#god the cross puzzle i forgot how hard the game is

[fizzyjacuzzi]

i'm still a little sad that the conan runner game got discontinued :(

[prof-peach]

If you could cross over two of your favorite games, which would you choose? Please explain, why that crossover would be a good match.

Oh you’re going to regret asking this one, I’m bout to GET SERIOUS.

So Pokemon, obvs, I love the whole world it’s built in, but the games imo are REALLY boring, I haven’t enjoyed one a lot since gale of darkness, the main ones just are a little too linear obvious plots, pretty standard setups for story and style. Speaking of style, the games lack personality, the models aren’t animated well, moves have no dynamic energy or visual difference at times, and the turn based battle style just feels kind of, I don’t know, old? Slow? Just doesn’t suit what I enjoy personally, gives me a FInal Fantasy vibe and I just cannot stand the speed at which things happen in those games, plus not into 3rd person ‘let’s build a team of people’ much, but that’s a problem for another time. With this all in mind, the game I wish would happen is like gen20 Pokemon, far future sadly, I doubt I’d see it in my lifetime but god I’d be happy if I did!

Ok so take the newest Zelda graphics, the visual treat that was BOTW, open world, puzzles, not JUST combat, you got side missions, hunt the chickens, find missing pets, parcels, items, whatever. Love it! The horse taming?! Amazing you funky little game. Now take the bad guys and beasts from that. And put Pokemon in instead. Give them the diversity, the life and believable natures that BOTW gave the animals, I followed a frog in BOTW for 15 minutes, and it was a great experience, it felt like it was believable. Above world spawning, ACTUAL difficult gameplay, rare spawn rates, make dragons hard to get again, cmon, it’s too easy now, make it so we need a certain set of Pokemon for certain tasks. Water types big enough to carry you will be able to get you to new areas, rock types that can help you climb mountains faster, or break through blocking boulders. Actual towns with more than 4 houses in them, shops, barns, farms, homes. Like little link with the heat, maybe ice types would struggle in volcano areas, or bug Pokemon not be so comfortable in gale force winds. Give the weather more of an effect on your partners. Mounts, don’t even get me started that Pokemon Let’s go had you able to ride any of the larger species, but swsh did not???? Bitch please, give me my rideable Pokemon. The wild area too was far too closed, limited, online was laggy and a mess, camping is limited, let me do more with my team. Pokemon for me is all about the actual creatures, how they live with humans, and the many wonderful things they’re capable of. Yes of course it’s cool they can fight, but like what else you know?

I’d love a game that lets me buy a plot of land, maybe plant things, custom build things. I’m a sucker for the fallout4 settlement builds when they’re modded to hell and back, they’re fun! It can be a really calm and creative process. If I could do that and skip the main campaign and all the battles for a bit? Amazing, it sound perfect for me. I am that distracted hoe collecting flowers while the kingdom burns in the background. Side quests are everything to me. Let me give homeless people enough money to get them in a home? Let me adopt Pokemon that are stray around the town? Plz oh plz bring me a Pokemon game that allows me to work WITH my team to do more than KO other species. I want to save and buy a plow for my buddy gogoat, and grow amazing foods to sell to get currency to spend in decorations, to spoil my team. Give me actual game consequence, if I ignore that sick and injured Pokemon I find in the wild, later maybe it’s family don’t want to help me out with a different problem, too stricken from grief. I am all about the average bits, the old women who need help, the lost pets board in town, the general day to day stuff. Let me get cosmetic items for the Pokemon I keep, cute outfits, special gemstone items, let me actually live with them, or even feel remotely like they’re realistic.

Ok so in game, if it’s looking like BOTW it’s pretty beautiful but also stylised, I’d have it so you can send out a maximum of 3 Pokemon from your 6, using bumpers and such to throw them out. If you hit the trigger you switch from controlling the human trainer, to the Pokemon you’ve targeted with a standard lock on targeting system. You then can be the leader, but be the Pokemon. You could technically defeat the game without a human if you wanted, which incorporates the mystery dungeon games I think, and caters to that crowd. I’d love to see the use of attacks out of battle, things like using water gun to grow plants, using ember to start a campfire faster and stave off the cold. There’s no consequence to Pokemon anymore, and I think that’s where it’s lost me. I have to admit I miss the days of a poisoned pokemon fainting if you don’t heal them soon enough, I miss gym battles that were actually tough, damn, try picking charmander in red and beating brock without grinding in viridian forest first, it’s not easy. And I loved that. Yes it’s a child’s game, it will never be difficult again, but god it’d be nice to have a bit of a challenge, or maybe a difficulty setting, so some could play it with hostility turned off, great for kids, or you can be n adult like I know so many Pokemon fans are, and play it on expert mode and ACTUALLY have to work hard to beat the game. Alternate skill trees anyone? Train gun a fire type to ACUTALLy combat water moves?? Please! Cmon! It frustrated me that every challenger has pretty much a systematic set of moves to use to win. Grass opponent? Fire attack spam until you win. It’s dull, so at least with very difficult tricks to either find or learn in game would make it more achievable if you can send that fire type in and I don’t know, train them so much the heat evaporates the water mid-battle and you suddenly have a shot at winning. Pokemon has taught me that if you work hard enough you can achieve something, but the games just have such strict ways to win. Feels wrong.

In terms of battling, let us BE the Pokemon, let us learn to dodge, train our speed, train our defence, make a team of truly tough Pokemon instead of just, average? Some species have a cap on their skills, a squirtle has lower stat points than a Charizard, but you can’t ever change that? Let me choose the Pokemon I believe in, and let me work with them until they’re just as good, if not better than the game tanks. This would also make online battles more interesting. Everyone picks the top trio. Fairy, dragon, legendaries. And yknow what? It’s boring. That one IRL fight with the monster Pacharisu that won in the world tournament with follow me and the situs Berry? Unbelievable, I love that little rat so much because of this, so let us all have a chance to build a team that’s strategically viable, strong, and potentially a winner formula, even if they aren’t fully evolved, or the biggest Pokemon in the world. Yeah maybe you have to grind way harder with your unevolved Pokemon, but you get to the end game and win, because you put love and time into species that you enjoy, not just good fighters.

Unfortunately I am beholdent to Todd-idiot-Howard, and I love the Eldrescrolls and fallout games (before they got dumb, not that I don’t play the new ones. 76 I’m looking at you, you big asshole game.) honestly I hate online games, so none of that junk, just a good old fashioned open world sandbox game is plenty. Games for me are an escape from others, not an invitation to socialise. To each their own of course, and I do play online games sometimes, just pretty short lived ones, over watch and rdr2 for example. Would they be sometimes better on private servers? Yes of course, fallout76? Want to play with others? No. I do not. Please leave me alone. And if you buy a private server you’re feeding the monster that is Todd Howard, the man the myth the asshole, then we’ll get more bad games like 76. I just so desperately want the Pokemon company to see what a beautiful potential game they’ve got on their hands, that could be suitable for far greater audiences, but instead they’ve focused on the kids. It’s fine, it’s functional, but it’s lost to the fans from day 1, that are all 20+ years old now and want something meatier to play, something far more broad and inclusive. I also hate that there’s no wheelchair option in any Pokemon game. Like cmon, it’s not hard to include that.

In short, BOTW + Pokemon, with a sprinkle of open world sandbox to it, less fighting, more fun. Or, at least both options. Sure, go fight everything, great, but I want to farm carrots over here with 6sunflora, plz let me have some peace.

Edit: I forgot about harvest moon, chuck some of that in there too.

SECOND EDIT: someone in the comments mentioned to put this in Unova? Plz love yourselves, this game would be ALL MAPS. Stuff one singular location, this is the ideal game, put every map in it, join them, put islands in, make them more explorable, more detailed!

[sleepwellmyprince]

hey everyone! here’s that little drabble i had talked about! i think it’s really cute, and i did try to keep johnny in character- somewhat. but it’s hard to write gruff characters like himself, and avoid putting my softer personality onto him. but i did my best! i hope you enjoy it :>

edit: i completely forgot!!! this fanfic does contain spoilers for the beginning of the game!! it is also written from the perspective of a street kid. sorry i didn’t place this here before!

Are you gonna watch me sleep, or join me?

Johnny x V / GN Reader

Night City had been exceptionally rough on you today, as it usually was. It didn’t help that a man who’d been dead for half a century was on your ass for a majority of the time. That was likely going to be the case for a long fucking time.

You’d finally gotten back to your apartment at about two in the morning. You were completely beat after running around all day, tryouts not to find a way to stop, or at least delay the process of your doom.

The door to your apartment slid open once you arrived, the lights inside switching on. As the door closed behind you, the flickering of the rockerboy you’d been forced to become familiarized with appeared by your wardrobe. He had his usual pose: arms crossed, leaning against a wall, hair slipping into his face, sunglasses threatening to fall off his nose, and that stoic, almost annoyed expression.

He looked at you through the red tint of his sunglasses, not saying anything for a moment. And you hoped that he would remain silent, god you prayed that he would, but he never really showed himself without having something to say.

“So, how was work today, sweetie?” Johnny sarcastically asked. You rolled your eyes as a response, not giving him the satisfaction of a vocal reply. You kicked your shoes off, setting them down beside your closet. He watched you closely, and as you glanced back at him, you could tell he was waiting for a true response.

For now, you wouldn’t give him one. You walked over to the bathroom, starting to run the sink. The mirror switched on, helping you to start cleaning your face. There was a small silence between you two for a moment, the only sound in the small apartment being the sound of running water.

After you shut the water off, he pressed on. “Are you gonna answer me?”

You let out a heavy sigh, continuing to stare at yourself in the mirror. Soon enough, he would appear behind you, still in that same pose. “I’m really not in the mood tonight,” you answered, reaching your hands up to rub the dark bags under your eyes.

“I don’t think you have much of a choice, V.” Johnny stared at you through the mirror, taking his glasses off and playing with one of the temples between his metal fingertips.

You moved your hands away from your tired eyes, now looking down at the sink’s countertop. You reached over to grab one of the pill bottles that Misty had given you weeks ago, specifically the blue colored one. Shaking it with your hand, you looked up to Johnny through the mirror. The sound of pills rattling must have caught his attention, because he looked up from his glasses. Though, he didn’t look concerned.

“I think I do, actually. I’m pretty sure you remember the last time I popped one of these, and wherever you went when I did.” You eyed him in the mirror as you spoke, catching one of his eyebrows raising. You’d turn around, leaning back against the counter while continuing to hold up the bottle. “Now, I won’t hesitate to take some more of these, if you won’t calm down on your own. You understand?”

Johnny stood there for a moment, keeping his gaze on you for a while. He didn’t say a word, staring relentlessly with his deep brown eyes. You eventually decided to break the almost unbearable silence for him, deeming this his lack of speech was his answer.

You gently shook the bottle a final time, and placed it down on the edge of the sink. He stood still, no longer playing with his sunglasses. Eventually, you ripped your eyes away from his gaze, and proceeded to walk over to your bed. A light yawn escaped your lips as you stepped over to your bed. Johnny would reappear beside the bed, standing in the spot where you first met him in. Well, technically you first met him in... your mind? His mind? You weren’t all too sure. It was after the heist after so many people died. Including those you were close to. God, poor T-bug, and Jackie...

You fell back into the bed, your legs drifting over the side. You could feel Johnny’s eyes still on you, which frankly, might be a bit more unnerving than him talking about how he wants to take your body for himself.

Setting your arms underneath your neck to prop your head up, you look up at him. “Are you gonna just watch me sleep? Or are you gonna join me?” You asked sarcastically. This certainly caught his attention, making him let out a scoff of a chuckle.

“You’re really offering a dead guy to sleep with you? That’s pretty fucking pathetic,” he insulted, looking over you with a puzzled, yet amused expression.

“Yeah, yeah. Take it or leave it, dickhead.” You hadn’t exactly planned for this to be the actual outcome of your sarcasm, but you know what? Fuck it. Some actual human interaction after about 50 years could do the fucker some good.

You shifted your body to the side, moving to face the wall. This provided some space for Johnny, if he actually chose to lay down. Of course, you didn’t expect that to be the case, so you closed your eyes and tried to sleep.

And you would have fallen asleep, if not for a slight weight appearing beside you. Obviously, you knew it was him, but you glanced over your shoulder to look at him anyway.

He had been looking at your back however he looked up to your eyes once you glanced over. He seemed much calmer now, like he wasn’t concerned with being so big and scary anymore. Or at least, for the time being.

You weren’t exactly sure if you should say anything at all, but your curiosity tugged at your mind.

“Do you ever sleep?” You asked, slowly shifting to face him. “Do you even need to sleep?”

He didn’t answer for a moment, his brown, near black hair slowly slipping in front of his eyes due to gravity. “Whenever you sleep, I get that energy. So I guess not.” His eyes dashed down to the blankets, analyzing the fabric without any real purpose. “I haven’t tried actually sleeping since I was... revived, or whatever you want to call it.”

You let out a quiet hum and gave a small nod as a response. As much as this bitter man was an absolute pain in your ass, you still felt kind of bad for him. He was stuck with you completely, and would either be forced to live again through your body, or be killed for a second time. Frankly, you weren’t sure which outcome would be worse.

With a bit of hesitance, you reached forward to set your hand on top of his cold, metal one. It was strange, how you could feel him, and how he could still make small impacts on the world, in a sense. He could pick up objects, make floors creak underneath the weight of his body, and of course, touch and affect you.

The warmth of your hand caused him to look up from the blankets, and to your hand on his. He appeared confused at first, glancing to your eyes for a reply, or at least some sort of explanation.

It took you a moment to put together words that had actual substance to them, but you pulled them together eventually. “I’m sorry that you have to go through this crap. It must be a lot to process all at once.” You paused, seeing him scoff quietly. “I mean that, Johnny.”

He shook his head after that, letting out a quiet sigh. His lips parted, as if he was going to say something. However, he remained silent. He seemed to be stumped, unsure of whether or not to believe you. But why would you lie? You had no reason to.

“You shouldn’t be apologizing. Ain’t exactly your fault that we’re stuck together.” Johnny spoke quietly, avoiding eye contact with you once again. He flipped his arm over, his metal palm now meeting with your own. You thought about intertwining your fingers with his, but he would end up doing that for you. “I’m sorry, V.”

To hear an apology that sounded genuine from Johnny fucking Silverhand... It seemed to good to be true. But he didn’t have a reason to lie either, or at least, you didn’t think so. Instead, you chalked it up to him being tired, as were you.

You both laid there, staring down at each other’s hands. Your hand was smaller than his, but only just. Even though his arm was cold, it was still oddly comforting. You hoped that your own touch had that same effect.

You gently squeezed his hand, looking back up to give him a faint, gentle smile. “Get some sleep, Johnny. It sounds like you need it.” He gave a small chuckle to that, shifting onto his back, but still holding your hand. You remained on your side, watching as Johnny settled onto his back.

No other words were spoken that night, and no words were necessary, either. The silence between you two was peaceful, and it worked to quickly put you both to sleep. Arms still linked by your hands, a restful slumber was given to you both, which was certainly needed and deserved.

[amorevolous-chionophile]

Mommy

❆ Fluff ❆ 5,710 words ❆ dad!Hongjoong x babysitter!reader ❆

@soft-black-teabag​ is the precious mastermind behind this idea 💜

"Yes I understand... Yes... Yes I will be there."  Hongjoong sighed as he hung up the call and mentally cursed. His boss called, saying that he has to jump in to fill a shift urgently to help, as his co-worker called in sick last minute, since he lacks work hours. He glanced to the living room to check up on the reason of his lacking work hours, his little princess and he couldn't help but smile as he saw her happily playing with her designer's kit for children which he somehow managed to afford for her birthday since she proclaimed that she wants to be just like her daddy. Since he was taking care of her alone, he had to miss shifts from time to time as there were instances where none of his friends could fill in for him. He prayed that this wasn't one of those times because his boss warned him that if he doesn't show up to work in two hours he will get fired and he couldn't lose that job. Hongjoong took on a great number of jobs through the years to have his little minion live a nice and happy life. He keeps each of his jobs for as long as the boss is tolerant enough of him being late or missing whole shifts. He hates that he gives them a hard time, but raising a child as a single parent isn't an easy job and he is trying his best, he really is. Hiring a babysitter was an option sure, but Hongjoong couldn't afford one and even if he could, there was no way that he would ever leave his precious child to a complete stranger. He sighed once more before tapping in the message to the group chat, there are seven of them, surely one of them is free, right?

Wooyoung was in the middle of a game when a notification rang, signaling that a message had arrived on his phone. That wouldn't have been a problem if he wasn't in class and the notification didn't echo through the classroom. The college professor gave him a threatening look from above the rim of his glasses to what Wooyoung smiled nervously and pretended to move his phone back to his pocket before muting it and proceeding to read the message as soon as the professor looked away like nothing happened seconds ago. You eyed him judgingly from the seat next to him.  "Wooyoung, you are going to get in trouble." Not that most professors at college care if you are on your phone, laptop, are you listening or not... But this one was a bit of a nitpicking pain that always says that you should respect the time which he is giving to you in order to gift you knowledge by at least listening. He always made it sound like he doesn't get any compensation for what he does, not like he gets paid. Wooyoung looked at you with the most offended face he could make.  "Don't talk in class you'll get us in trouble."  He put a finger to his lips and couldn't help but smile to what you rolled your eyes and smiled as well returning your attention to the professor as Wooyoung returned his gaze to his phone. He entered the group chat to find that everyone already responded. He scrolled to the first message to see what all that was about, just to find Hongjoong's panicked message about needing someone as fast as possible to look over his child. Wooyoung loved that child like he was her uncle, and not just him, all of the boys warmed up to that little ray of sunshine. As he scrolled he noticed that none of the other boys were available, for valid reasons and he mentally sighed as he had to tell Hongjoong that he wasn't either.  Wooyoung: "I have a makeup exam. I must retake it, it's half of my mark. I'm really sorry."  This time he audibly sighed. He had major respect for Hongjoong, the guy was torn on million sides, he sacrificed his college and his free time for the sake of his child. That's why he felt bad for not being able to do anything in this situation.  Seonghwa: "Hongjoong, could you please reconsider all that about the babysitter?"  Yunho: "Yes, please, if money is the problem we can help you with that."  Hongjoong: "I know, but even if I agree, how can I get any babysitter to come in less than an hour? No worries guys, I'll just find another job."  Wooyoung was too preoccupied with his phone and thoughts of how to help to notice the professor eyeing him suspiciously. You however noticed and nudged him to snap out of it or he won't even have the chance to take that makeup exam. He rapidly turned his head to you, his eyes widening and your face crunching from confusion. It was seconds before he returned his attention to his phone.  Wooyoung: "I am a genius. I have solved all of your problems 😇"  Yeosang: "This is gonna be good."  Hongjoong: "?"  Wooyoung: "Y/N!"  Hongjoong: "Who?"  San: "Oooh, nice!👍🏻👍🏻"  Yeosang: "I am disappointed I am not disappointed with that answer. That is your first good idea since...ever."  Jongho: "How come that idea never crossed our minds before."  Mingi: "That would be so adorable to see. Just think of that cuteness duo!😸🥰"  Hongjoong: "Guys, would you please concentrate and tell me who that is."  You had to nudge Wooyoung again, stronger this time because he was visibly testing the professor's patience.  "Wooyoung, leave that phone, the professor is giving you a death stare I think even the room temperature decreased."  You whispered almost inaudibly to what he turned off his screen, nudged the phone to the side of his desk and shifted his gaze up smiling innocently to the professor. You couldn't help but pinch the bridge of your nose letting out a breathy laugh at his carefree attitude.

Hongjoong: "Wooyoung, who's y/n?"  Seonghwa: "Seems like he's not here anymore."  Jongho: "What... who leaves in a moment like that."  San: "I think he and y/n have class with that ice drama queen professor."  Yeosang: "He probably used all of his energy to come up with that idea, his system must have shut down."  San: "Yeosang... Who hurt you young child?"  Yeosang: "Whoever ate my fried chicken the last time we hung out."  Mingi: "But why are you taking it out on Wooyoung when Yunho ate your chicken 😂"  Yunho: "He. Didn't. Know. That."  Mingi: "Oops, I didn't know that."  Yeosang: "Well, it's only important that now I know that."  Yunho: "🙃"  Hongjoong: " G U Y S. I'm kinda running out of time here."  Seonghwa: "You remember how we mentioned Wooyoung's neighbor that hung out with us probably every single time when you weren't there?"  Hongjoong: "Oh yeah, I forgot her name, so y/n... I'm not so sure, how well do you guys know her?"  Mingi: "Wooyoung knows her best since she was his neighbor and classmate from the very start of college."  Jongho: "But since he's not here, your second best options are San, Yeosang and me. Well Yeosang and me."  San: "Hey 🥺"  Yeosang: "Yes, since we attend the same college we meet quite frequently so I assure you that she is a good choice."  San: "Are you all ignoring me now 🥺"  Jongho: " I strongly agree with Yeosang, not once did she leave a bad impression."  San: "..."  Hongjoong: "Well not like I have a choice at this point anyway."  Seonghwa: "Since I sense that you are still unsure, I remember this one time when she got a call from her sister and had to leave to look after her nephews."  Yunho: "So that means she knows with children. I mean you got a winning combo here." Hongjoong: "But I don't know, what if the two of them don't get along, what if something happens"  Jongho: "I just wanna remind you that this was Wooyoung's idea to which even Yeosang agreed"  Mingi: "I think that this is the first time something like this happened 😅"  Seonghwa: "Come on Hongjoong, you know we love your child almost as much as you do. We would never propose something that would be potentially dangerous for her."  Hongjoong: "Alright... Fine"

Finally, for what seemed ten times longer than the original ten minutes it should have lasted, the bell rang, signaling the end of the class. You stretched your arms, still sitting down, while Wooyoung rapidly swiped trough his phone to catch up on the conversation that he missed, hoping to run into Hongjoong's agreement. You eyed him suspiciously when he jolted up with an excited "yes". You mirrored his actions and got up as well, gathering your stuff.  "What happened, the makeup exam got postponed?"  He let out a sad whining sound before gathering his stuff as well.  "As if, not even in my dreams."  He swung his backpack on his back and typed something in his phone excitedly.  "Then what is..."  Before you could finish, he grabbed your wrist and started speed walking towards the door and into the hallway, opposite of the direction of where his exam is supposed to be.  "Wait Wooyoung, what is going on?"  But you were not graced by any kind of answer in return. When you exited the building, you were even more puzzled to see Yeosang, San and Jongho there. Before you could ask again, Wooyoung went into medical commercial narrator mode.  "So you remember how we mentioned our friend that has a rainbow sunshine pink sparkly precious child after who he looks after alone and that sometimes we fill in because he has to work and all. Well today we are all busy and if he doesn't go to work he will get fired and he really needs that job and he can't leave the child alone and so we thought that maybe, probably, eventually you could look after her because we don't have much time since he needs to go to work soon and pretty much we don't have any other option...please?"  You blinked trying to process everything you just heard as Wooyoung grabbed your hand and shook it giving you the puppy dog eyes look. You closed your eyes trying to form a coherent question in return to all that.  "Wha..."  But San interrupted you, joining Wooyoung in the hand shaking puppy dog eyes squad. "Pleeease, the child is a sweetheart I swear. I promise you two will get along perfectly, and the cuteness oh God, you two will be the cutest duo ever."  You shook your head, really trying to keep up with the both of them, looking around to find a spot to focus on in order to actually have a chance to think about the proposal, when you noticed Yeosang and Jongho standing on a greater distance from you than when they originally were, talking among themselves, pretending not to know you three. You couldn't blame them. "Wait you two, wait a second. I mean I am free now and I would love to help, but I am not sure about all this? To him I am a stranger and from what I have picked up from your stories he wouldn't leave his child with just anyone so I don't think he will agree to this. Also a child... I'm not sure, it's not the same as looking after my nephews."  Wooyoung let go of your hand in order to swipe through his phone for a brief second before showing you a message of Hongjoong's agreement, more like shoving it in your face.  "He already agreed, it's only left for you to agree so please."  You almost winced from the frequency Wooyoung's voice managed to hit. You were kinda at a dead end in that moment. You had no reasons to refuse, not like you even wanted to refuse an opportunity to help someone in a tight situation so the answer was pretty obvious.  "Okay, just tell me the address and..."  Your proclamation was interrupted with Wooyoung and San squealing and, for the sake of their souls, let's say that those were manly squeals. They ran up to Yeosang and Jongho and excitedly announced that you have agreed before Wooyoung proceeded to run back to the college entrance in his style, shouting.  "I'm late for the makeup exam, I will text you the address before I..."  Was all you managed to hear before his voice became inaudible.  "Wooyoung, I swear to God."  You whispered in your chin before joining the remaining trio in order to say goodbye.

Hongjoong was running around his apartment, grabbing his necessities before a tiny voice called out to him.  "Daddy?"  The young girl was standing underneath the notably larger doorframe, questioningly tilting her head to the side.  "You said you would stay home today."  Her face welcomed a small pout. Hongjoong quickly squatted to her eye level, one hand on her shoulder, while the other caressed the crown of her head.  "I know princess, but they called daddy to come today. I promise I will make it up to you."  He smiled, hoping to reassure her.  "I just miss you."  She proclaimed sadly before wrapping her small arms around his neck. Saying that his heart shattered into million pieces would be an understatement. He sighed heavily and wrapped his hands around her, lifting her up.  "I'm sorry it has to be this way."  He said that more to himself before the melody of the doorbell filled the house. The girl looked in her dad's eyes with newfound interest.  "Which uncle is coming today?"  Hongjoong smiled nervously, not sure how to deliver the news and more importantly not knowing what the reaction will be.  "About that..."  He hesitated as he went towards the door with her still in his arms.  "It's uncle Wooyoung's friend."  He confessed, opening the door, not sure himself what to expect. What greeted him there was a warm, smiling figure, immediately putting him at ease.  "Hello, I'm Wooyoung's classmate, y/n. It's nice to meet you Hongjoong."  You gave a little wave before grinning to the little girl.  "And this must be the princess I have heard so much about."  The girl smiled in return, resting her head on her dad's shoulder, still a bit shy.  "Hello."  Hongjoong motioned you to enter before he closed the door behind you, a faint scent of his shampoo hitting you.  "I should hurry now, thank you for coming on such short notice."  You were in the process of taking off your shoes while you replied.  "Don't worry, it's a pleasure to help."  You rose back up stretching out your arms for Hongjoong to give the girl to you.  "Oh there's no reason for that, she may be too heavy for you, besides she is daddy's big girl, she can walk."  Hongjoong went to put her down, but to his surprise he ran into the girl's resentment, as she stretched her arms out to you in return. You smiled warmly and took the child in your arms, patting her back.  "It's not a problem really."  You reassured Hongjoong as you turned to the girl.  "This way we can assist daddy together while he is getting ready for work, right?"  The girl chimed happily in response. Hongjoong didn't notice or he didn't want to notice how his brain blocked all of his actions for a brief second wanting to absorb that moment and so he continued with tying his shoelaces a moment after as if nothing happened. Hongjoong was about to exit when you noticed a phone on the cupboard next to you, so you quickly stop him. "Hongjoong, I think you forgot your phone."  He checked in all his pockets to check before he accepted the phone from you grasp and thanked you with a warm smile.  "Daddy will be back before you know it princess, be nice to y/n."  He bent down to plant a kiss on the girl's cheek, before her little hands grabbed his face and turned his head in order to do the same. The scene had you internally melting from all the cuteness. Hongjoong went out the door, and you trailed him standing on the doorframe.  "Wave to daddy."  You told the girl who shook her hand smiling from ear to ear, you copying her. There was it again, that moment that Hongjoong felt shoot through his heart and brain.

You caressed the girl's cheek before putting a blanket atop of her, snuggling her to sleep. You put the fairytale book you were reading her a bedtime story from on the shelf. You decided to leave the lamp on, just a bit more dimmed as you were not sure whether or not she was afraid of the dark. She fell asleep pretty quickly, and it was no wonder, for the whole day you were doing all kind of things together, playing pretend, fashion designer, telling stories, watching cartoons, eating. You tried to engage her in everything you could, you really gave it your all, and it was easy because she was indeed a pure angel child. You sat in the living room, lowering the volume of the tv in order to hear if she wakes up. You had time to peacefully look around the apartment which was an interesting fusion of an art and music studio, laced with the essence of a family home. You also noticed that the home was sparkly clean. You didn't know that that was Seonghwa's doing however. He was the last to babysit, just the day before you. He and the girl were playing fashion designer when Seonghwa made the grave mistake of commenting how she put too much glitter on a particular piece of clothing. Second after that he had a child proclaiming that he shouldn't question her fashion sense and glitter pretty much... everywhere. So after putting her to sleep he engaged himself in cleaning all the glitter, and cleaning glitter is not an easy job, not to mention that he himself resembled a disco ball with all the glitter he had in his hair. He somehow ended cleaning even the rest and who knows when he would have stopped if Hongjoong haven't arrived home. You basically absent mindedly gazed into the cartoon on the tv which was muted when your phone buzzed and brought you back to your senses. It was a message from an unknown number, but from the content of the message you figured it was Hongjoong.  Hongjoong: I will be back about 10 minutes.  You saved his contact before replying.  You: Thanks for giving me a notice, I will wait for you. I put her to sleep, so you have nothing to worry about.  And just like that you spent those 10 minutes watching a cartoon on mute before you heard a clatter of keys trying to unlock the door, but being unable to due the keys from the inside of the door.  "I'm coming."  You whisper-yelled, afraid not to wake the girl as you hurried to the door. You turned the keys and opened the door, smiling.  "Welcome home."  It was probably due to not having a chance to hear that often, but his heart slightly fluttered at your welcome and he couldn't help but smile a little.  "As I already mentioned, she is sound asleep..."  You trailed off as you went to pick up your belongings from the living room, not wanting to yell and as soon as you returned you started putting on your shoes.  "She is a wonderful child, you raised her very well."  You gave him a wide smile as you started putting on your coat.  "We made dinner together and left you some in the refrigerator so you can heat it up if you want. You must be tired so I will be going now."  As you took ahold of the knob, he took ahold of your forearm. You turned around, giving him a puzzled look as to which he just took out his wallet.  "No Hongjoong please, I did not do this for money. Besides, that child already repaid me with her smile, I really had a nice time today."  You shook your hands before your face in defense.  "There's no way I can let you leave without anything, you lost your whole day."  He took out his money and was handing it to you, but you were not an easy nut to crack.  "Can we make a deal then? If I happen to look after her again, I will accept, okay?"  He sighed in defeat, dropping the argument as it was leading nowhere. But that idea of you babysitting again, deep down he liked it.  "Alright, alright."  You exited the door waving at him.  "Why don't you at least let me call you a cab? It's pretty dark outside for you to be walking alone."  Shaking your head you turned to him.  "Don't worry about me, go back to that precious little child."  He nodded, closing the door.  "Hongjoong..."  He halted and looked at you expectantly.  "See you."  And like that, you parted.

Little did you know that she would want you to come look after her again and again and again. Hongjoong of course, refused her at first, not wanting to trouble you, but soon he just gave up. And you didn't mind really, that child grew onto you like on anyone she meets. This time you were just going to visit her for no particular reason, you just had free time. You knocked on the door you grew used to and the man you started to develop faint feelings for opened.  "Oh hi, come on in."  He gave you his usual smile and you obliged. Just after barely taking one shoe off you heard your name being shouted from across the hall by a little human who was running to tackle hug you.  "How's my favourite princess doing?"  She smiled from ear to ear, as she always did.  "Good! Daddy and I were just talking about you!"  You rose a brow as you shot a glance at Hongjoong who was smiling nervously.  "Daddy asked me if I would want you..."  She was unable to finish her sentence because Hongjoong interupted, cutting her mid sentence. "You know, we were just planning on going grocery shopping, so you don't have to take off your shoes if you wanna come with us."  You returned your attention to the child, whispering into her ear.  "You'll tell me later."  You smooched her cheek before raising back up nodding at Hongjoong.  "Let's go."

"Hongjoong, you forgot to get the tomatoes... How do you expect that we make the bolognese sauce without tomatoes?"  You waved in front of his face with a wooden spoon threateningly.  "Sorry, I was hindered by a certain small being that strongly wanted a package of gummy bears."  You just chuckled at his troubled expression.  "We can just improvise something then, I guess. At least she got what she wanted."  You nodded in the direction where the previously mentioned small being was eating her gummy bears, her attention on the cartoon playing on the tv.  "I have a weakness for her, what was I supposed to do."  Hongjoong gave you a troubled smile as he was growing scared of that wooden spoon in your grip. You couldn't resist the urge to ruffle his hair.  "Go rest, you were working for the whole day yesterday. Your eye bags are so big, they could be used as bowls."  He shook his head.  "I can't leave everything to you..."  You squinted your eyes and raised the wooden spoon back in his sight.  "We will all rest when we eat, how does that sound?"  You rolled your eyes at him jokingly.  "You were always a tough negotiator, have it your way."  Smiling to your agreement he let out a breathy laugh, not really sure how to react to the given situation. You were gifting him precious moments he could only dream of before. Like having someone to welcome him, see him off, look after him and his baby, make a meal for him, and all that just made him wish that he could do the same for you.

"Hongjoong, I am actually amazed at your cooking skills." You confessed as you plopped yourself on the couch, the little minion automatically manifesting on your side hugging you. Hongjoong went to sit on the other side of the couch before he was stopped by his little girl. "Daddy, I want you to sit here."  She patted the free spot next to her, and Hongjoong just obliged, placing himself next to you two.  "Now I want you two to hug me."  She giggled as if she knew exactly what she was doing. As you put your arms around the little minion and connected them on the small of Hongjoong's back, he did the same. Your head rested on his shoulder, inhaling the same scent from the first day when you met him, his head rested on your shoulder looking longingly at the one person he wished for from the first day he met you, and in-between you two, a brightly smiling child who loved both of you was seated.

And so again, you went to them, they came to you. When Hongjoong was working, you were babysitting and when he was free the three of you just casually spent time together. This one time, when Hongjoong returned from work you were still in the process of putting the minion to sleep. Hongjoong inspected you closely as you ran after the child while taking off his coat and boots and he couldn't help but smile. You halted for a minute to welcome him, while the minion was long gone from sight. As you turned back to go after her you could hear her voice from the room.  "Mommy hurry, I want you to read me a story before I fall asleep."  You froze to the spot and looked to Hongjoong wide eyed as he did the exact same thing. Your face welcomed a shade of pink as you turned around and marched forward, not being able to face him.  "C-coming princess."

"Hey Hongjoong."  You peeked inside the living room, finally mustering up the courage to face him after what happened earlier, but to your luck, or misfortune, he was asleep. You would have let him be and went home as it was that he even gave you the key to his apartment, but you couldn't leave him in such a uncomfortable position. He must have fell asleep while waiting for you. You shook him lightly by the shoulder, afraid not to startle him. Your heart fluttered the same time his tired eyes fluttered open.  "I just didn't want to leave you in an uncomfortable position, I will be leaving now. Get some rest."  You blabbered and were ready to leave.  "Could you stay... a bit longer?"  Originally, it would not have been a problem, but this time around your nerves were getting the better of you. However, not having a proper reason to refuse, you sat on the couch next to Hongjoong, sighing.  "May I?"  He was asking you to lay on your legs. Again, it wasn't the first time, but never before did he ask nor did you feel nervous while his soft features were beneath your reach. However, on instinct your fingers started playing with his hair and he momentarily relaxed. Feeling restless you just had the urge to start a talk about something, anything.  "Hongjoong, you never told me what happened to your...uhm...her real m..."  You found it quite difficult to word the sentence, luckily Hongjoong caught on and saved you the struggle.  "We had my princess when we were nineteen..."

Hongjoong and his girlfriend at the time didn't even plan marriage, a baby? Even less. But she found out she was pregnant and after a lot of negotiations and talking, they decided to keep the baby and promised that they would handle every obstacle on their way. Neither of them ever dreamed that their first and biggest obstacle were their own parents. Both sides gave them the cold shoulder, but not all hope was lost. They believed that when the baby is born, their parents would change their mind. It was a brutal strike to both of them when, even with the birth of their baby girl, nothing changed. They weren't making much and they could barely take care of even themselves. That is when the girl wavered. She was scared for her future and she insisted that they give the baby for adoption. Hongjoong however, didn't want to hear about it. He didn't want to give his precious treasure to some random stranger. He also couldn't care less about his parents rejecting him. They always treated him as if he was a nuisance, so what was the difference now. His girlfriend, however, left and he never blamed her for that. She lied to her parents that she put her child up for adoption, she split up with Hongjoong and broke off every contact with him and the baby out of fear that her parents would kick her out again. Through all that time the only person Hongjoong kept contact with was his brother. Even against Hongjoong's will his brother keeps sending him money from time to time. Hongjoong on the other hand sends him back videos and pictures of the little minion doing whatnot. This is the exact reason why Hongjoong is making sure to make her real uncle a part of her life as much as possible. The number of times the uncle burst into tears after hearing a little voice through the phone calling him to come and meet her is a large one. There was nothing he could do about that as he lived on the other side of Korea. The only thing his brother didn't tell Hongjoong is that their parents greatly regret their choices and want to see their grandchild. But Hongjoong will find out himself when and if they decide to let go of their stupid idea of pride.

"...and that's how the two of us ended up like this."  It was not until your tear fell on his face that he noticed that you were crying.  "Hey, don't cry for that."  He raised his hand in order to wipe away the watery paths that your tears left on your face.  "She now finally has a mum as she said. I can't thank you enough for playing that role for her, no let me take that back, you are not playing that role. After all this time of looking after her you can call yourself her mum."  His comment only turned on the faucet that let more tears fall.  "Thank you for saying so Hongjoong."  He rose from your legs and turned to face you.  "I didn't plan to do it like this but here it goes."  He cupped your chin and leaned into you, his only support being his other hand. Your heart went on a rampage, throwing itself randomly against your rib cage causing irregularities in your breath. Hongjoong softly smiled when he noticed your reaction, feeling reassured to carry on with his confession.  "I started attaching myself to you from the first time you stood on that door. At first I wasn't sure if that was because..."  You cut him off by placing your lips onto his in a sweet kiss unsure if your heart would be able to last through his whole speech. You pulled away shyly forcing yourself to look him in the eye. Now it was official, until now you were practically just a couple without that official stamp. It felt nice, it felt like home.  "You will tell me later, I wasn't sure if I was able to survive through it all."  You grinned and he shook his head, smiling as well before he leaned in again.

"Okay is everyone ready?"  You asked eagerly after hearing Hongjoong approach the door.  "I don't understand why we have to wear this."  Yeosang retorted, not amused in the slightest before Yunho appeared from behind him and pulled him into the room to hide like he was pulling him in a back alley to kidnap him, what made the situation more amusing was Yeosang's uninterested face.  "Come on Yeosang we don't have much time for questions."  Yunho whispered in his ear as they both disappeared into the darkness of the room. You sighed in relief as everyone was finally on their position just as you heard the keys and the door knob. And then there on the door appeared Hongjoong.  "Welcome home, come on sweetie."  You welcomed Hongjoong and guided his, no, both of your child to him.  "Daddy, mommy bought me a minion onesie, look!"  She ran up to Hongjoong and extended her arms up to him.  "It's beautiful love! What does it say here... I'm gonna be a sister..."  Hongjoong's eyes widened as his heart skipped a few beats and he would have jumped to hug you right then and there if he wasn't startled by seven men who ran at him at the same time, wearing a "I'm going to be an uncle (again)" shirts, pink shirts. Hongjoong's eyes widened again before he passed the child to Seonghwa to come and finally hug you.  "So another girl huh?"  You smiled widely back to him, nodding and he returned an even wider smile.  "What week are you?"  He caressed your still unnoticeable bump.  "The doctor said 15th, the stomach is going to start to show from here on."  He hugged you careful not to squish you too much.  "I love you, thank you for giving me everything and making me a happy man."  He pressed his forehead to yours.  "I should be the one thanking you, Joong."  Your lips met again just like they did yesterday and just like they will tomorrow.  "I want to hug with mommy and daddy too!"  And just like that your little intimate moment became a group hug of all the people you considered family.

[rose-scent-and-vodka-lime]

With You - Denny Duquette x Reader

Summary: The reader deals with the loss of her boyfriend Denny Duquette after he passes away from suffering a stroke after his heart transplant. 

Inspiration: Ghost The Musical - With You

Warnings: Feels / Mentions of Death / Grief / Sadness

*Also there will be flashbacks in this stand alone and they will be in cursive.*

Note; This is going to be the first time I every write something for Denny, God I always loved his character and I never felt I could do him justice. So here we go my first time trying to write something for the man that stole my heart all these years ago. I hope you all enjoy it. 

I picked up your shirts this morning, I don’t know why but I had this thought running trough my mind fearing that I would forget how you smelled. My eyes go over all the pilled up boxes in the living room. All of these boxes filled with memories from your life, that little line that would appear between your date of birth and the date that you passed away. Memories that we were supposed to create together, a family, trips or just regular sunday afternoon brunches where you would be busy cooking and I would try to finish one of those ridiculous puzzles we’d often start and i’d be so tempted to finish them off. Because we both knew I couldn’t let stuff like that go unanswered easily.

Mr. Reynolds and I crossed paths in the hallway of our apartment today, he said to say hello. I started to cry when he said that. He didn’t even mean to say something hurtful, it’s just every place we ever walked. And everywhere we talked, all of those remind me of you all the time. On some days I even have trouble listening to the radio. I miss you, you never leave my mind. So much of you is left behind.

 You, took my days with you. Waking up is fine, for a few seconds I forget. And then it’s like getting that phonecall again, and again. And then oh I remember that you are gone. I get to relive that horrible moment, again and again every day. And i don’t want to, I want to look next to me and see you laying right there beside me. Sleeping or holding me into your arms that’s what I miss the most. I have to get through the day, I don’t know how I do it even. Autopilot I guess? Last week I hated myself so much, I forgot for a second and I stood there with my keys in my hands, ready to walk through the door to be on my way tot he hospital when I felt my stomach drop.

I forgot that you didn’t came home.

 You took my nights with you, my nights were allready lonely when you had to stay overnight at the hospital, you could never fall asleep in one. Afraid that you wouldn’t wake up the very next day. After one of my visits to you the bed would feel even more emptier than it did before. Sometimes I would allign your pillows beside me to atleast have the feeling of having you lay right there beside me. But I could almost never fall asleep right away or barely. My mind would play our conversation from earlier before and I would miss you even more.

“Oh, I hate it so much that I have to go back home without you.” I looked up from our game of scrabble and I saw Denny looking at his letters. Trying to one up me during the game, and to keep his mind of the fact that I had to go back to our apartment alone soon. “Y/N If I had the choice we’d be sharing this bed together you know that.” He looked at me up with a smile placing the letters on the board. He spelled out `Alumn’ He won again. I smirked a bit and I saw the look in his eyes as Denny tried so hard to hold his laughter in. “You won, by spelling the word Alumn. I swear Denny you are something special.”  “ Well Y/N I am yours.” He said while looking me directly in the eyes. That look he gave me would always make my heart go faster and make the room around me spin like crazy. I reached over and held his hand, giving it a slight grip. “I love you, so much.”

  Those unfinished conversations we used to have, still speak to me. We could talk hours about things we both enjoyed or just purely subjects that didn’t make sense. You always told me that if we took life to seriously we’d end up running out of time. I started writing you letters everyday, however I know deep down in my heart that i’ll never send them. And you’ll never get to see them. That is something that I will miss forever, waiting patiently for your letters, longing about what you’d write in them for me all day. Just to open them in the comfort of my own home and be reminded why I was so lucky to be with you.

 All this wishfull thinking get’s me nowhere, I can’t stay. Allthough my heart is broken, it keeps breaking everyday. You took my hopes with you, took my dreams with you.

“What do you think, after all this is done how about a nice vacation, just the two of us Y/N?” Denny turned his head to me while i was sitting next to him on his hospital bed. While he had his arms around me I looked at him by surprise. Knowing Denny he didn’t want to sit still and wait for things to come by, he’d start it himself. “Honey, once you are perfectly fine, and the doctors gave us the all clear, i’d be glad to treat you well and enjoy a nice holiday on a lovely beach.” I smiled and looked at him, and reached in to give him a soft kiss on the lips. Feeling his hand gently stroking my arms, I adjusted my pose and decided to lay my head on his chest for a while. Listening to the beat of his heart. I can’t wait untill the day that we can put all of this behind us. To start the next chapter of our iives together. No more pain, no more hospital visits. Denny who can live his life again like he deseves. 

 I keep thinking that you’ll be calling, everyone says that it’s all-in my head. And that I can’t except it yet! I’m just not ready to go on like nothing happend. I’m not ready to give in to the fact that you are gone, that I will never get to hear your voice again. Hear you say my name or lay next to you in bed. I know that I can’t life with this pain, and all these feelings of regret. I can’t comprehend this, and I pretend that I don’t care. I act like i’m fine but I know deep down i’m not.

I just wish I could hold you in my arms, I wish I could wake up next to you in the morning, and look into those beautifull eyes of you. Aany place I want to be, I want to see you there.

 You, took my life with you. Took my world with you...

[writeofmind]

before you go

Genre: smut (ya horndogs)

Pairing: Rosé x Reader

Type: (very short) scenario 

anon: Imagine rosé's girlfriend is jealous of everyone Ogling her girlfriend so before Rosanne goes to her her girlfriend licks rosé through her panties everyday only stops when she is about to come and she is dripping wet and her panties are ruined she makes rosé go to work wearing it she sits in her room knowing the reason rosé is shifting and squirming is because of her

A/N: i originally wasn’t going to write this out as anything, but another anon wanted it to come true (and to be honest me too so... lol) this was written very quickly since it was a short little prompt, so it isn’t the best. i hope you enjoy regardless ;) 

-

You, as a girlfriend, were very understanding. It was something that Rosé appreciated very much. You understood that she was one of the most demanded idols in the game, so she was almost always booked and busy, and you never complained about it. In fact, you were always happy to tag along to her shoots or events, just to show your support. No matter where you were though, there was always attention on you two.

You knew that you had to share Rosé with the world, but damn. 

The amount of eyes that you would catch scanning up and down her long legs, the double takes that people would take on the streets, the whistles that the unruly bystanders would make— but you knew it wasn’t her fault. Rosé couldn’t control how attractive she was (which was very), and you were nothing but proud to be at her side.

You were only human, though. And you got jealous. A lot. 

You were the type to wrap your arm around Rosé’s hip when you saw someone gawking, the type of stand directly behind her with your head on her shoulder if you saw some guy fixated on her legs, the type to kiss her right in front of someone trying to flirt with her. So, when one day at a shoot you saw the photographer getting a little too close to your girlfriend, you butt in immediately.

“Excuse me,” you called out rather calmly as he tried to position her legs with his own hands, “I’d prefer you not do that.”

Rosé looked at you and tried not to giggle. She liked seeing you be possessive. 

The photographer looked back at you, too. “Aha, sorry y/n,” he tried to act as if the two of you were friends, “I’m just trying to get a good shot—”

“She can do that herself.” Your eyes held fire in them, and you were sure that he could feel it. This happened more often than you would expect. If it wasn’t the photographer, it was usually just another one of the hormonal boys on set that got to see Rosé in all her glory.

Your glare never faltered from the photographer. He retreated quickly and without another word, to which you laughed at. Rosé gave you a wink a blew you a little kiss, the rest of the shot flying by with no issues. 

-

“A lot of your staff seems to try to flirt with you, babe.” 

You and Rosé were in the kitchen cleaning up after dinner when you spoke up. You were never really the type to bring stuff up like this, so she was curious as she turned to look at you.

“You think so?” 

“Yes,” you raised an eyebrow at her and earned a giggle in return, “especially that sleazy photographer. God, I wanted to punch him.”

Rosé just laughed at your words. You huffed when she came up behind you as you washed the dishes, lacing her arms around your waist and kissing you sweetly on the cheek.

“Don’t worry, baby. Just know that you’re the only one ever on my mind.”

You smiled.

- 

You forgot that you had something planned the following morning when Rosé asked if you were coming to her shoot.

“Aw, shit. That was today?” You called out from the bathroom as you were brushing your teeth. Rosé swooped in to use the mirror fumbling with her earrings.

“Yeah, it’s a continuation from yesterday. They always want to do follow ups,” she rolled her eyes. She didn’t see you frozen and staring at her as she went to get dressed.

A continuation?? A follow up?? With that sleaze of a photographer?

You shook your head. Oh no, you were not okay with that.

When you were done getting ready, Rosé was already sitting on the couch, scrolling through her phone. She looked up to smile at you.

“Hey baby, I’ll be leaving in about 20 minutes. When are you heading out?”

Just thinking about not being around to threaten her overly-flirtatious staff was making you uneasy. It wasn’t because you didn’t trust her, you just hated when people tried to flirt with who was yours. 

You blinked when you saw Rosé staring at you. “I’ll leave after you do. Just to be sure you make it.” 

She smiled, commenting on how sweet you were before going back to scrolling through her phone. 

The longer you stared at your girlfriend, the more the jealousy began to grow. It began to do that a lot lately, even though you tried to conceal it.  

Without a second thought, you walked over to Rosé and dropped to your knees in front of the couch. She moved her phone and looked at you with a puzzled expression until she saw that look in your eyes. Her eyes widened in surprise when your hands inched up her thighs, skimming across her soft skin before pushing up her skirt.

Her face began to burn a hot pink. “Baby, what—”

You brought a finger to your lips before leaning up and capturing her in a kiss. She melted into it, her hands reaching up to hold your face. 

“Just before you go,” you grinned against her mouth. She could hardly protest when your hand just lightly brushed across her clit, already sending a shiver through her body.

The kiss was messy, but quick. Rosé desperately tried to follow your lips when you pulled away, but you shook your head as you moved lower, down until you were looking up at her, a perfect view of her flushed cheeks and already quivering legs. You smiled at her.

“You have such cute panties on today, baby,” you cooed as you hiked her skirt up higher, “I hope you don’t mind if they get ruined.”

If there were any protests against it, you couldn’t hear them once you pressed your face between your girlfriend’s thighs. 

Rosé’s head fell back, a whimper coming from her throat when you let the length of your tongue press against the already damp material of her panties. Your tongue dragged up, stopping at her clit, before trailing back down to her core.

“Baby, fuck—” Rosé‘s hips bucked upwards in frustration, “just take them off, please...”

A smirk crossed your lips. “But where would be the fun in that?”

Your hands curved around the outside of Rosé‘s thighs so that you could hook her in place, angling her in a way that gave you full access to her. You were already intoxicated by everything about her. From the look on her face, the way she was breathing, the way she surrendered herself completely to you.

You did desperately want to take Rosé‘s panties off of her, to taste her in completion and let her come on your tongue; but you had other plans. 

Again, your tongue pressed hard against her clothed clit. Her groans began to grow more apparent as her hands moved to tangle in your hair. You bobbed your head, feeling her panties only grow increasingly wet, and you weren’t sure if it was because of your own tongue or her juices. 

Your hands drew gentle circles on her hipbones. Just this small stimulation that you gave her was enough to drive her crazy, and you knew it. 

Rosé moaned loudly when you inserted your tongue into her heat. She tried to grab at her panties to move them to the side, slide them down, anything, but you stopped her by holding them in place.

“Ugh, baby, please,” she whined. You shook your head and continued your assault, eventually letting one of your thumbs circle her clit in a gentle rhythm, perfectly in tune with the movements of your tongue. 

Rosé was a frustrated mess above you. Nothing but whines and begs fell from her mouth, her hips constantly bucking in attempts for more. You decided to indulge her.

“Go ahead, baby,” you hummed against her panties and earned a moan in return, “grind on my tongue.”

Rosé didn’t need to be told twice.

Her hands, once tangled in your hair, went to hold the couch’s headrest above her. Within a moment, her hips began to gyrate, her whines only becoming louder with every swipe of your tongue over her clothed clit.

She began to grind harder. Faster. You knew that she was nearing her limit when you saw the dark spot on her panties, her juices leaking down the expand of her thighs. 

Rosé began to cry out. It wasn’t enough, she whined, but it was just enough to get her climbing towards her climax, and when you bit her clit through her panties, she screamed.

“Ah, baby, I’m gonna—!”

Then you stopped. You held her hips still and pulled away, looking up at your girlfriend, flushed pink and nearing her edge. She breathed deeply, her hands still gripping the couch for dear life with her legs still spread open for you.

“Baby, please, let me cum,” she panted.

Oh, you wanted to let her. You wanted to hear her cries of pleasure and the sound of your name over and over again. 

Just then, you heard the honk of a car horn.

You gave her a smile and leaned in for a sweet kiss. “I’m sorry baby, but your ride is here.” You fixed her skirt for her as she sat in disbelief. Her hands quickly grabbed your cheeks and she held you close to her face.

“Baby. You can’t leave me dripping like this. I need you—”

You pushed forward to give her another deep kiss, a distraction in exchange for what you weren’t going to give her. “If you’re good, I’ll finish you off when you get back.” You winked at her and kissed her on the cheek once again.

For the rest of the day, the only thing that filled your mind was the thought of your girlfriend, horny and dripping wet, squirming in her spot and waiting to get home to come undone on your tongue.

[itsbenedict]

I didn’t post about everything I played this year, so here’s my opinions on the stuff I played that I didn’t make a rec post for:

Raging Loop 

Raging Loop is one of them twisty meta Zero Escape-y branching-path visual novels where an ensemble cast is trapped in a mysterious circumstance where people are dying gruesomely, and you have to find out what’s happening and stop it by looping a bunch. 

I can’t wholeheartedly recommend it, because... it tries to have its cake and eat it too with the supernatural elements. Clearly magic is real and has important impacts on the scenario, but then other parts are trickery you’re supposed to see through, and it’s entirely uninterested in cluing you in to how that trickery was accomplished. Not exactly a fair play mystery, in that regard- you have to kind of just be along for the ride, rather than try to figure it out.

That said, it’s a good ride- pretty strong character writing, and the central conceit of the Werewolf/Mafia-style murder scenario creates really interesting drama. It’s more concerned with making itself feel clever than letting the player feel clever, but it’s still well-paced and gripping and has a pretty decent resolution.

Detective Grimoire

I recommended Tangle Tower, the sequel, pretty strongly- and this one, while obviously a little rougher around the edges with the art and mechanics (the suspicion tracker system is a total dud; I didn’t even realize it existed until I realized I was missing an achievement for using it), it’s still pretty darn good. Really fun character designs and animations, fully-voiced, and a solid whodunit backing it all. Plus- while the two are more or less self-contained, the continuity threads with Tangle Tower raised some really interesting questions.

Contradiction - the all-video murder mystery

This one was pretty fun, largely on the strength of the actors. The main mechanic of interrogating people on evidence and using their own statements against each other was some good stuff, too. Definitely had that Phoenix Wright quality to the deductions, and Jenks is a really fun character. (Had a few points where progression was just linked to standing in a certain previously-abandoned area of the map where a clue was suddenly there for no reason, there- good thing it had a hint system.)

As a mystery, it could use a little work- most of what you end up finding out is sequel bait (for a sequel that never actually came together, unfortunately), and the actual whodunit is just sort of hiding in the cracks of all that. And... cornering the culprit just sort of happens out of nowhere once you’ve got your hands on the right piece of evidence, without much fanfare. You’re following up on leads like usual, you find a little lie in someone’s testimony, and then- oh, shit, they’re just confessing everything! Unlike all the previous times you questioned them and they were super evasive like everyone else! And then the game is over. 

All in all, it’s pretty meaty and entertaining and I’d recommend it, but unfortunately the creators have moved on to other things, so there’s not going to be any follow-up on the stuff it left unresolved.

Ikenfell

Ikenfell is a tightly-designed RPG about kids at a magic school, with Paper Mario-style action command mechanics and a battle system that makes a big deal out of careful positioning and movement, which was really enjoyable. The difficulty’s a little high (I recommend always always always speccing into max damage because killing things before they kill you is worth more than any amount of defense, speed doesn’t work, and healing is cheap), but I found it really satisfying.

There’s... something... off? About... I don’t know how to put it, it’s... doing that “yes, everyone is queer and mentally ill, deal with it” thing, which, sure, okay. But for a lot of them it’s such a background thing, like... half the playable cast is unambiguously nonbinary, but like... I don’t know if it’s trying to make some statement on how there are no rules to being NB and you can 100% perform a particular binary gender presentation but still count, or if they wrote the whole story and then changed the pronouns of some of the characters for Representation Points, or what. Probably the former? I dunno, it just feels weird. Maybe I’m just not woke enough to Get It.

(unrelatedly: why the heck is the official art they use everywhere so... off-model? none of them look like they do in-game- they look like the creator commissioned someone to draw a group shot with one reference image each and didn’t tell them anything about the characters. how much you wanna bet they commissioned a friend and it came out wrong but they were too polite to say “sorry, no, this is wrong, can you do it over?”)

Trails of Cold Steel IV

Hoo boy. It’s... not great, and it’s not great in a pretty predictable way for an even-numbered entry in the Trails series. It happens every time- first there’s a game in a new engine with new characters and a new world to explore, and it’s really nice and does interesting things... and then it ends on a cliffhanger, and then there’s a sequel game in the same engine with the same characters and the same world, reusing as many assets as possible. Also the League Of Generically Evil Anime Supervillains is there causing trouble for reasons they refuse to explain, and the plot is a storm of magicbabble and macguffin-chasing that makes little to no sense. 

Cold Steel IV is that for Cold Steel III, full stop. Welcome back to all the same places you visited last game, except this time there’s some stupid magic apocalypse happening (not that it stops you from taking the time to do random sidequests constantly, of course). The whole “oh, the evil curse mind controls people and that’s why they do stupid bullshit that’s in no one’s interest” plot point is leaned on super hard, and it’s just a big yawn the whole way through.

It’s still really fun, though, because the battle system remains really well-designed. (The same battle system that was just as fun in Cold Steel III, mind you, but it hasn’t gotten old.) And- though they’re struggling to square it with the dumb mind control apocalypse plot, the NPC dialogue continues to make the world feel believable and lived-in. They don’t slack on the parts that make Trails good- it’s just the parts that make Trails bad are making themselves more evident than ever.

did finally get to date Towa though so that’s a win

One Step From Eden

OSFE is... uh. It’s fucking hard is what it is. It’s sort of a deckbuilding roguelike, and there’s this combat that takes place on a grid, and- wait, it’s like Mega Man Battle Network, it’s exactly like Mega Man Battle Network. Man, I forgot about that, but the mechanical influence is extremely obvious. It’s MMBN meets Slay the Spire.

Except it’s super duper hard as hell, because unlike MMBN you can’t pause and swap out chips or anything- everything is just always happening so much, all at once, everywhere, and you have no recourse but to git gud and learn all the enemy patterns and the behavior of your own spells and develop the twitch reflexes necessary to not fucking die from all the shit that’s on the screen always.

(What’s the story? Uhhhh, there was some kind of magic apocalypse, and some anime girls are trying to reach a city for some reason that doesn’t really get explained ever. The game doesn’t really care to build its world at all- it’s all mechanics plus a little token character dialogue that doesn’t say much.)

The point is it’s really frickin’ hard but I am an epic pro gamer and I got ALL THE ACHIEVEMENTS, MOTHERFUCKER. If you’ve played it, I expect you to be really god damn impressed with me, okay???

A Short Hike

This one was really relaxing! It’s a platformer where you explore an Animal Crossing-y island of cartoon animal people, collecting mobility upgrades- but like, mainly it’s about straight chillin’. The flight controls are fun and there’s lots of little secrets to find and it’s just a nice time that doesn’t drag on too long. Not too much to say about this one.

Pokémon Sword

Ehhhhh.

I’m not here for the hot takes about how Dexit is good actually. Development hell happened, they had to make cuts for time, I get it. It’s disappointing and makes the game a little bit worse, but it’s not the end of the world.

Apart from that... perfectly serviceable? The Wild Area could’ve used a little more technical polish (as could most things in the game, really) but was a step in the right direction, giving the player a wider array of early-game team-building options than ever before. No HMs is good. Story and characters were kind of nothing, but that’s par for the course. “At least this time they’re not shoehorning in some kind of stupid evil-team-wants-legendary-pokemon-to-destroy-the-world apocalypse plot”, I thought to myself before they managed to shoehorn one in at the last minute with zero buildup- but, hey, beats wasting half the game on it.

It’s nothing special and it’s missing a lot of polish, but its problems are mainly due to being rushed, and presumably next gen they’ll be able to reuse a lot of the models and animations (maybe even improve the animations so they’re not so boring??? a man can dream) and make something interesting. SwSh seem like they were testing the waters for something else, and not taking too many chances in the meantime. 

(yo why would you sell all these cosmetic items and then turn them all off during gym battles, though) 

Hades

Hades is- oh, who am I kidding? Everyone knows Hades, it’s the game of the year, greatest thing since sliced bread, Supergiant are heroes, yada yada yada. I’ve played almost 300 hours of it and I’ve completed everything except all the Resources Director levels (currently a Sigma Wraith), it’s extremely fun and you don’t need me to tell you that.

Petal Crash

It was that thing the Paranatural creator helped on? It’s, uh. It’s a block-sliding puzzle game thing, sort of in a Puyo Puyo vein. It has fun character designs and some good dialogue, like you’d expect from Zack’s involvement, but it didn’t really leave an impression otherwise (besides how got dang infuriating some of its Turn Trial puzzles can be.) The story is... kinda heartwarming, kinda didactic, kinda childish, not especially deep or interesting. Hard for it to be, when it’s told through little bits of fluffy character dialogue that exist to set up a puzzle battle as quickly as possible. Not super recommended unless you really really like block-sliding puzzles.

Hollow Knight

Man, why’d I sleep on this for so long? It’s a metroidvania platformer with heavy Dark Souls inspiration, in terms of tone and difficulty and death mechanics and environmental storytelling. And it’s... apart from all that, just really good as a game, with tight controls and juicy movement and great animation. Progression is linked as much to mastery as it is to upgrades collected- I found myself in lategame areas facing down things that would’ve killed me ten times over at the start- not because I had the best gear, but because I’d learned the game’s language and understood how to move in ways that wouldn’t get me killed.

(Usually. Sometimes I’d walk into a room and sit on a bench and suddenly there’d be a boss fight and I’d get slaughtered. Ain’t that just the way it goes?)

Anyway, on top of all that it’s just charming as hell, with a really unique and well-realized world full of little bug people. I love how, like, your character is clearly some kind of eldritch abomination, but it’s small and cute and so everyone (besides enemies that attack you on sight because they’re possessed by some kinda evil mold) is like “awww, who’s this little guy? want some help, little guy?”

(except Zote, who is just an ass hole. i love him.)

[ratonnhhaketon]

Revenge is a Fool’s Game (Chapter 1)

Read on Ao3 | Next Chapter

Summary: Born to two Assassins in the Colonial Brotherhood, Eleanor Price was destined for great things. That is, until the disaster at the Davenport Homestead leaves her family in hiding and her parents' pasts long forgotten. She is determined to find and kill the men responsible for her father's death, no matter the cost. Revenge may be a fool's game, but Ellie plays to win. And the prize might just be a blossoming relationship with the boy training alongside her.

A/N: This is the completely rewritten and revamped version of my previous fic involving Connor and my oc Eleanor Price, Iron. Same characters, different plot, a lot better writing. Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoy!

Chapter 1 - The General Store 

The city of Boston was bustling despite the chilling winter that was beginning to slowly come to an end. Civil unrest had been getting heavier during recent days and everyone could sense that something big would happen if it was not taken care of. 

The general store was particularly cold that day, and the occasional burst of frozen air that would rush in with a customer trying to escape the harsh temperature outside was especially chilling. The only sounds occupying the small building were light murmurs escaping the back room and the steady brush of a broom across the front room’s floor. 

The door to the store opened, and a boy about 14 walked in. He wore tan clothing, made of some animal hide, and was donning several weapons. As he pulled the door closed behind him his amber eyes wandered to the girl sweeping the front of the store. She spared him a small glance at first, before looking back up in wonder at him. He looked like he wanted to say something, but didn’t know where to start. 

He seemed just as unsure of his presence as she was. 

Before he had a chance to speak, a woman exited the back room and walked behind the counter. She had on a typical pale pink dress with a white apron tied around her waist. Her hair was twisted up underneath a bonnet, with only a few curls sticking out around her face. “Can I help you, sir?” She spoke up in a sweet tone. 

The boy walked over to the counter and pulled a pouch of coins and a piece of paper out of his pocket. “I need the items on this list.” 

The woman picked up the list and read it over. “Yes, well.. we can get you the tool, pitch, and nails. Lumber is hard to come by these days, as our supplier seemingly vanished.” She poured out some of the coins and counted them before giving the pouch back to the boy. “Now, where did you want these delivered?” 

“Our wagon is just outside, by the statehouse.” His voice was smooth and calm, like each syllable was carefully thought over before speaking. As he walked towards the door he and the girl shared one final glance. 

“Eleanor, come help me gather these supplies.” The woman behind the counter spoke up. The girl gave her mother a quick glance to acknowledge what she had said and immediately turned back towards the door. The boy had left in a flash. 

Begrudgingly, she propped her broom up against the doorframe and followed her mother into the back of the store. 

Fifteen minutes and a few splinters later, all of the ordered supplies had been packed into crates and boxes and were ready to be delivered to the boy’s carriage. Ellie and her sister, Peggy, were tasked with the job of moving the supplies while their mother stayed back in the store tending to customers. 

When they returned through the back door of the store, Peggy noticed their mother deep in conversation in the front room. 

“Are you sure this is a good idea?” She spoke up with an uncertain tone. The two girls quickly hid around the corner of the door frame to further listen-in on the discussion. 

“Not really, no, but I have faith in the boy.” A familiar voice that they knew belonged to Achilles Davenport responded. “He has a lot to learn before he is ready, but he is showing signs of improvement each day.” A gruff sigh. “Have you considered talking about The Creed with the girls?” 

“Absolutely not.” Alice spoke up a little too quickly.

“Alice, don’t you think the girls deserve to know what really happened to their father? You cannot keep telling this lie in hopes-“ 

“No, Achilles, listen to me!” She cut him off. “I can’t go back to that life, I can’t put my girls in danger like that!” A few seconds of silence before Alice spoke up again, this time in a much quieter voice. “I can’t relive what happened to James-“

A gunshot rang out on a street very close to the store, stunning her into silence.  

The two girls peeked out from behind the wall and Peggy spoke up with a very concerned tone. “Mother?!” 

“Girls, make sure the back door is locked and the curtains are drawn over every widow.” The girls wasted no time in retreating back out of sight to the back room of the store. 

“The Templars are behind this.” Achilles spoke in a serious tone. 

Alice’s head whipped back over to face him. Her jaw was tense and there were tears forming in her eyes. “How do you know?”

“I saw Haytham with my own two eyes.” Alice felt her heart drop at those words. 

“He is in Boston?” The older man only replied with a nod. “Oh god, no..”

“Go and keep your family safe. I have matters to attend to.” He turned and started to walk towards the door, with Alice following close behind him. 

She opened the door and held it open for him. “Safety and peace, Achilles.”

He gave her a nod and a light smile. “To you as well.”

~~~~~

It had been nearly a week since the horrible events in Boston had conspired. After finding out that Haytham had orchestrated the massacre Alice had felt nothing but stress and worry.  She was constantly checking the town around her while outside of the store or their home and had started carrying a small knife on her person for self defense. 

Eleanor and Peggy were left alone in the store for the time being, as Alice was on her way back from helping a customer bring their order to their home a few buildings down the street. 

As she was walking back she noticed a familiar figure open the door to the store. Tall, dark hair tightly pulled back, and donning a long black cloak with red accents and numerous weapons slung around the torso. Alice felt her heart shoot up into her neck as she realized who the figure was. 

He had finally found them. 

After grabbing handfuls of her skirts and hoisting them up, she ran the rest of the way down the road and practically ripped the door off of its hinges as she bursted into the building. Her daughter and the man immediately forgot their conversation to turn their attention towards her. “She’s actually not in at the mo- Oh, mother! Are you alright?” Panting and out of breath, Alice only nodded in reply while desperately swallowing down gulps of air. “Well, this gentleman here was actually looking for you.” 

She stood up straight and let out one final ragged breath. “Darling, could you give us some privacy?” 

“Oh, uhh, of course! Absolutely.” The girl quickly disappeared into the back room, making sure to shut the door behind her. However, that didn’t stop her from pulling her sister from her work to listen in to the conversation through the wall. 

“Well, you found me. I’m surprised it took you all this long, considering we never even left the northern colonies. So, are you here to kill me? Take me hostage? Throw me in front of a firing line like you did to all those poor citizens last week?” 

The man looked at her with a puzzled expression. “Alice, I.. I’m not here to hurt you. And I had nothing to do with the massacre, I only read about it in the paper and wanted to make sure you were all okay. What are you talking about?”

Alice crossed her arms over her chest and gave him a stern look. “Your mentor and his associates were behind it.” 

“I swear on my daughter’s life that I am not lying to you.” 

Alice felt her blood begin to boil and heat creep up her face. “Shay, I’m sorry but I have not seen you in seven years and suddenly you show up, hoping everything will just be fine and that I will just suddenly trust you? You killed my husband and then went silent up until now. This whole time I thought something had happened to you, or that you had gone off and gotten yourself killed.” 

“Alice-“

"You have some nerve showing your face to me, Shay Cormac!"

"Alice, please!" She let out a huff before looking at the man in front of her in the eyes, anger still present on her face. Shay sighed before continuing, "I tried to get him to go with the three of you but Haytham.. had other plans. I had to watch him get shot in the back." Alice looked away and tried to blink back the tears that threatened to fall. "I never wanted to hurt anyone in your family, you know that." 

“Shay," Alice spoke with a shaky voice. "Have you been keeping in contact with Haytham?” 

“No. The last time we spoke was after.. everything at the Homestead. I was angry at what he did and we had a falling out. I haven’t received word from him in years.” 

"So how do you know where we’ve been but he doesn’t? A man that smart would know to send scouts searching."

Shay let out a breath before answering. “He.. did. But the report was sent to Fort Arsenal and we made a deal. I will make sure no harm comes to his son as long as he does not harm any of you. That was actually the last conversation we had before he took his leave to Boston.” He put a cautious hand on her arm and, when she didn’t recoil, he relaxed and rubbed his thumb over the soft material of her sleeve. “I know you’ve all done just fine for yourselves for this long, but if you would allow it I’d like to be there for you if at all possible. I owe it to you for being absent this whole time.”

Alice thought over the idea for a moment before nodding. “What exactly did you have in mind?”

“Anything you need, I’ll provide for you. Money, supplies, weapons, you name it and I can get it.  

The younger of the two girls pulled her sister by the hand away from the door and into the middle of the room, earning a surprised “Hey!” from her older sibling. 

“I have an idea, but I need your help.” She looked at the closed door quickly before continuing. “I want the key to the study.” 

Peggy looked at her with wide eyes. “What? Ellie, are you crazy?! It’s off limits, you know we can’t go in there.” 

“Come on, please!” Ellie shot back with pleading eyes. “Don’t you want to know what mother is hiding from us? Especially after the weird conversations she had with Achilles and this Mr. Cormac out there now?” She sighed, “What if it’s information about father’s death?” 

Her sister let out a huff before nodding. “I suppose. But if we get in trouble it’s your fault!” 

~~~~~

The girls knew that Alice kept all her important keys together on the same ring. The store’s front and back, house, and study room keys were always in the same place. Locating them was not difficult, but acquiring them without their mother noticing was. 

When they returned home that night, Alice slipped the keys into her cloak after unlocking the door. 

Alright, now just to get it away from her.

She crossed the small room to the fireplace and immediately got to work on getting a fire started for the evening. As she worked the two girls shared a knowing look, signaling that they were going to try and execute their plan before the night was over. 

After a few minutes of work the room was lit by the orange glow of a fireplace and the house was warming up. Alice finally shed the thick cloak she was wearing and slung it over the chair by the door. “Girls,” she called into the sitting room where her daughters were seated by the fire. “I’m going to start supper. It should be ready in about 30 minutes or so.” 

The girls nodded at their mother before she disappeared into the kitchen. After waiting a minute or so to make sure she was preoccupied, Ellie made a beeline to where Alice had left the cloak. She fished the keyring out of the outerwear’s pocket and flashed it to her sister. Peggy looked up, gave her a knowing smirk, and set off for the study down the hall with Ellie following close behind her. 

Of course, all three of the keys looked the same so they had to try each of them to find the correct one. After getting the door open, Ellie stepped in cautiously and looked around with a look of wonder. The room had two tall bookshelves completely filled to the brim with old books as well as a large desk with chairs on either side. 

Peggy glanced out the door of the study and down the hall before speaking in a low voice, “Just hurry up and grab something.” 

Ellie approached the desk in the middle of the room and picked up a large red, leather-bound book and opened it. Peggy walked over and peered over her sister’s shoulder to read the first page of the book with her.

“What do you two think you are doing?” Alice’s angry voice ripped them from their thoughts. 

The two girls shot back from the desk, terror written all over their faces. Ellie immediately tried to hide the worn out book behind her back. “We-uh, I…”

“It was her idea!” Peggy shot an accusatory finger towards her sister, earning a hard smack to the shoulder. 

Alice approached them menacingly and snatched the book out of Ellie’s grasp before placing it down a little too aggressively on the table next to them. “Haven’t I told you girls that this area is off limits?!” She turned to look at the girls, anger and worry raging in her green eyes. “The information in these books is not for the two of you to be learning. It could cost you your lives.” 

Ellie straightened her back and looked her mother in the eyes. “What are you hiding from us? I heard your conversations with Achilles and Mr. Cormac. What really happened to our father?”

Alice’s voice shrank and her threatening posture fell. “Girls, please.. we’ve been over this.”

Ellie felt tears start to glaze over her eyes. “No we haven’t! We deserve to know what truly happened to him! To our father!” As she grew increasingly upset she felt tears start to steadily roll down her face. 

Peggy stepped forward next to her sister and spoke up. “What if something happened to us. Wouldn’t you want to know who was responsible?” 

Alice looked down at her feet and struggled to find the right words. “I..” A frustrated sigh. “Yes. Yes, I would.” She walked over to the door and gestured for the girls to exit the room. “Go on. We have a lot to discuss over dinner.”

[stufftippywrote]

a pact

Prompt list is here Angst prompt #12: “Holding everything in doesn’t help, you know.”

"Yo, Bitty, Jack just gets real bitchy near the end of every preseason." - Ransom

He missed the puck by just that much.

Jack's on the ice with 4 seconds to go in the third. They're down by one, but they're on the power play, and Jack's at point, in a great position to set up Bergey for the one-timer. The puck shuffles back to him, a timing play that should leave the goal wide open for Bergey. Jack extends his stick for the puck--

--and misses. It goes rocketing down the ice where Johnson has to play it behind the net, and at once four seconds are gone and the game is over.

It was the simplest play. It's a play Jack's made over and over in the Q. And the puck just slid right by his stick.

The coach's words ring hollow to his ears. "Of course we wished for a different result, but you played a good team game," whatever. The fact is, Jack lost the game for them, and he gets to go into his first collegiate season with that hanging over his head.

He sits in his stall, head down, trying to calm the incessant voices in his head. Maybe this whole thing was a bad idea, they say. Maybe he's made yet another stupid mistake. Maybe he'll continue to fail for four years...

He doesn't notice the locker room emptying out. The next thing he knows is someone patting him on the top of the head and calling his name. "Zimmermann. Yo. Jack."

It's Knight. Shitty, he insists on being called. His whole existence is a puzzle to Jack. He's been around a lot of vulgar guys as part of his junior hockey career, but he's never met anyone quite like Shitty. Certainly, he's never met anyone who'd hang back in the locker room to check on him what he was in "one of his moods," like Ruddy used to say back in the day.

Jack lifts his head. "Sorry," he says, and he's not sure what he's apologizing for.

"What's got you so down?" Shitty asks. "Don't tell me you're back here beating yourself up over one missed pass. It's preseason, brah! It doesn't even count."

Jack is silent. How does this guy know that? And when did this room get so empty? They're the only two left.

Shitty sits himself down in the neighboring stall. "Come on," he urges, "talk to Uncle Shitty."

Jack lifts his head slightly and looks at him. Who the hell is this dude, with the wild hair and the fluffy mustache, to tell him what to do? How can he possibly understand what that one missed pass signifies, how Jack is pinning all his hopes on not making stupid mistakes like that? Why should he talk to anyone, much less anyone who identifies himself as Uncle Shitty? Anger flashes through him, and he glares, hoping his expression says leave me alone.

But Shitty's not that easily fazed. "Whoa, if looks could kill, bud. Put those daggers away before you hurt someone."

Jack lowers his head again. Maybe if he ignores him long enough, Shitty will go away.

"Seriously, buddy," Shitty goes on. "Holding everything in won't help. Look, you're new here, so am I. Why don't we make a pact? As bros. I'll be here for you, and you be there for me. Have each other's backs, you know what I mean?" The words string together at the end. Shitty holds out a hand.

Jack gets up and leaves the room.

The walk back to his dorm is annoying. His silence is punctured by everyone who walks by in conversation. Thank God his mother's connections were enough to get him a single his freshman year. He couldn't deal with an obnoxious roommate right now on top of everything.

He just wants to get back to his room and take a pill and be alone.

No. No more pills. Just his daily medicine. But the craving's there, it always is when he feels like this. God damn it, he thought he was going to stop feeling like this once he got back on the ice...

"Brah."

Shitty's sitting on the fence outside Jack's dorm.

How in the hell...

Shitty hops down from the fence and approaches him. "Look, Jack, I'm not trying to be a stalker, honest to God. But I'm worried about you. You looked like a fucking ghost back there."

Jack looks him over. At last, he gives a little sigh. "Come on up," he says, and lets Shitty follow him into the building.

They're silent on the walk upstairs, but Shitty's presence at his back is like a bur on his clothes. He can't help but be aware of it, and every so often, it itches. He finally lets Shitty into his room and takes a seat on his bed.

He doesn't expect Shitty to plonk right onto the bed next to him. "You need more light in here, brah," he comments. "You should get them to fix that overhead light. I guarantee you'll feel better."

"What do you want?" Jack asks.

"To help," Shitty says. "And maybe to make a friend. If you're cool with it."

"I'm not--" Jack takes a breath. Rational thought is returning, little by little, though tremors of anxiety keep wracking him. "Thanks."

"So what's going on?" Shitty crosses his legs on the bed and faces him. "Why do you look like you're about to pass out?"

Jack lifts a hand to his face. His cheek is cold. "I shouldn't have missed," he says slowly.

Shitty's eyebrows rocket upward. "Really? You're seriously worried about that one pass?"

"It's not just the one pass," Jack admits. "It's ... I can't play like that, I'm better than that. I can't..." Another tremor sends a chill across his skin. "I have to be better."

"Or what?" Shitty says carefully.

Jack can't believe the question. "Or else I'll... I won't be able to..." He plasters his palm against his forehead. "I just have to."

"Okay, so, first thing? You are better," Shitty says. "Dude, you don't think we haven't all been watching you with our goddamn jaws on the floor? You're on a whole different level than the rest of us. You're captain next year and I'd bet my best weed on that, man."

Captain... Jack hasn't even thought about that. He could, hypothetically, be captain. Captain of an NCAA team is a pretty good mark on his resume. If he's good enough, that would be a great position from which to...

"Heyyyy," Shitty drawls. "I swear to Jeebus I just saw you smile, Pissy Jack Zimmermann."

"I--" Jack immediately puts on the most neutral face he can manage. He's ashamed at the seed of hope Shitty's words planted in his heart. What right does he have hope?

Yet hope is what brought him here. Hope and hard work, and he has slain greater dragons than this.

"I don't know how to say it," he says, his voice soft in the too-dim room. His breaths are starting to calm. "It's just... my dad is... I'm trying to..."

"Your dad?" Shitty takes a moment. "Oh, riiight. Sorry, I forgot. Dude, you're not comparing yourself to him, are you? Of course you fucking are, that's Psych 101 material. Well, cut it out."

Jack blinks. Just cut it out? This guy thinks it's that simple?

"Yeah, you heard me," Shitty goes on. "Just cut it out. Yes, I know it's not that simple, but in a way it is, dude. You think your dad never made a mistake? You think he didn't deal with a rolling puck once in a while? Dude, unless he's got twenty Cups in a row, I'm pretty sure he's fucked up a couple times in his life. And don't tell me you've been perfect up till now either." He's got a head of steam going, and he jumps to his feet, starts pacing in front of the bed. "Look, don't fucking tell me it's part of a pattern or it means you're doomed to miss pucks forfuckingever because it's not, and YOU know it's not, and I know you know it, so tell the crappy thoughts to fuck off. Do you want to get high? Might help. I can bring some stuff over from my dorm. Or beer if alcohol's your poison of choice. But for God's sake stop hunching your shoulders like you're the hunchback of Notre fucking Dame."

Jack obediently straightens his shoulders. Is this a lecture? Is he being lectured? But Shitty's right. He's being a little ridiculous. Now that the shakes have stopped and his breathing's even, he needs to snap out of it.  

Shitty watches him warily, and finally sits back down on the bed. "Too much?" he asks, almost tentative.

Jack shakes his head. "Thanks," he tells Shitty. "I guess I got too much in my head."

"Brah." Shitty puts a hand on his shoulder, comforting warmth that grounds Jack. "Don't keep this kind of thing to yourself, okay? That is literally what a team is here for. We got you when you're down." He holds out his other hand. "So. How 'bout that pact? Bros for life."

Jack sighs. "Yeah," he says, and grasps Shitty's hand. "Sounds good."

Shitty yanks hard on Jack's hand, and Jack is pulled into a hug -- the first hug he's had here that didn't follow a goal on the ice. How long since he's been hugged by someone other than his parents? He doesn't remember. It feels nice. It feels like he belongs here. And that's just what he needed to feel right now -- like there's a meaning for him having chosen this path, that it wasn't another huge mistake.

It even almost feels like there's something for him here besides hockey, and that's a revolutionary thought.

Shitty lets him go, and Jack lets out the smile he'd held back. "Bros for life," he echoes.

[writingpaperghost]

There is a Me Who Can Become Strong (Chapter 16)

Chapter 16: The Paradox of Defeating M

The CR get clarification on Emu's status as Bugster. While fighting the Bugster, though, Ex-Aid does something... strange.

AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/32857183/chapters/83607565

The most notable thing about the next morning was that Emu was late. Or perhaps he wasn’t going to show up at all, after the previous evening. Saki wouldn’t blame him. As much as she was probably right about being worried, she shouldn’t have pushed him so far. She could see that he was getting worked up and stressed, yet she still chose to try to see what was wrong.

She was worried though, given his lack of appearance. He was rarely late – perhaps due to his ability as a Bugster to teleport. It was entirely possible that he simply chose not to come today, given his hesitance to tell her what he truly was. Perhaps he was truly worried she would react badly.

Haima, on the other hand, was certainly, extremely worried. “Hojo’s late,” He fretted, “Why? Did Gemn get to him on his way here?”

“While a possibility,” Saki responded, “I doubt that is the case. He may simply not come today, as unfortunate as that may be.” Another person who chose not to come to the CR today was Nico. Even though it would be easier to keep an eye on her, she insisted on staying at Taiga’s clinic.

Curiously, Poppy asks, “Why do you say that?”

Which leads Saki to a terrible dilemma. She doesn’t want to reveal Emu’s secret without his permission, but she also doesn’t want to keep Poppy and Haima in the dark. Not to mention, if anyone would know about pretending to be human, it would be Poppy, even if Asuna was a persona, not exactly based on any real person, to their knowledge. It would also be best to alleviate Haima’s stress before it finds a way to cause him any problems.

Taking a deep breath, Saki answers, “After the fight yesterday, I found out something rather… important, about Emu. He’s been hesitant to share, and I’m hesitant to tell you, but I believe it’s best if you know.” She takes a moment, hoping to come up with a good way to phrase this. Perhaps, though, tearing the bandage off, so to speak, may be the best. “Emu, you see, is a Bugster.”

For a moment, they both just stared at her. Then, Poppy recovers, gasping and pressing her hands against her cheeks, “Put!?” Her vocabulary suddenly gained a large amount of ‘p’ sounds, “Pemu’s a Pugster?”

As if on cue, footstep begin to walk up the stairs, slow and hesitant. Everyone turns their attention to the stairs, watching as Emu slowly emerges. He glances about the room hesitantly, running a hand through his hair. Saki wonders how much he looks like the real Emu.

“Um, sorry I’m… Late,” He says hesitantly.

In response, Haima eloquently blurts out, “Bugster!”

Which prompts a startled look on Emu, as he hurriedly looks around, “Is it Revol again?” Then he blinks, looks at the three of them, then sighs. He glances at Saki and asks, “Oh, I guess you all know now, huh?”

Saki nods, “Nico told me last night, though I do believe you’d been trying to tell me,” She said, “I told Haima and Poppy just now. I thought that they should know.”

Excitedly, Poppy asks, “So you’re a Bugster, Emu?” She jumps towards Emu, who takes a startled step back, “What game are you from?”

“Um, yeah, I guess, and uh, Perfect Puzzle and Knockout Fighter? I guess?” At Poppy’s surprised face at his response, he adds, “Or Emu, I suppose, since I didn’t even think I had a game until I tried using that blank Gashat.”

“That reminds me,” Saki begins, “Nico mentioned that you’ve been around for sixteen years?”

Chuckling in a bit of a nervous manner, Emu responds, “Yes, but I’ve only had my own body for six,” He tugs at his sleeve a bit, “Before that, I only ever really existed to Emu.”

A silence sits, for a moment, before Haima points out, “That means you’re older than Poppy,” As if it weren’t an obvious fact, given Poppy’s only existed for six years, “But how come we never knew?”

Emu blinks, “Because Emu never really had any negative effects of Game Disease? The only reason we were separated when we were was…”

“Zaizen,” Saki finishes, “Emu was the one he operated on.”

“Yeah…” He rubs the back of his neck nervously, “So, uh, I guess the whole part where those Next Genome scientists became Bugsters is sort of my fault? I hadn’t exactly meant to but…”

Poppy frowns, “Emu, that’s terrible. How come you never told anyone?”

The look that he gives in response told that he felt the question had a rather obvious answer, “Because at the time I didn’t know whatI was. And then when I did, I decided that it would probably be better not to risk it.”

“I suppose that’s fair,” Saki responds, “Though you really don’t need to worry, not at this point.”

“It’s not like we didn’t already know there was something odd about you,” Poppy adds, “I mean, you can’t even use a Gamer Driver!”

He responds quietly, “I… yeah…” He’s silent for a moment, before saying, “I should have told you.”

Saki sighs, “While it’s disappointing that you felt you couldn’t tell us…” She gives him a kind smile, “I just hope there can be no more secrets between us.”

Emu laughs, “I promise, no more secrets,”

Sheepishly, he just runs a hand through his hair and changes the subject, “Anyway, are you and Nico okay after yesterday?” He looks at Saki, “After trying to fight Ex-Aid’s new form… I forgot to ask you guys before I… left.”

Assuring, Saki nods, “We’re fine, though Ex-Aid’s new form will certainly be a challenge.”

Tapping his chin in thought, Emu sighs, “If only Nico could fight Revol, then I’d say that you two could try to deal with him. I think my Level 20 would at least be a little better match to Ex-Aid’s Level 50.” His other hand digs into his pocket, producing the Perfect Puzzle/Knockout Fighter Gashat. He glances at it, “But as it is, that’s not going to work.”

“Maybe we can try talking to Yuko?” Poppy suggested, “If the reason why Nico can’t effect Revol really is because of Yuko’s perception of her, then maybe we could change it.”

“Perhaps,” Saki considered, humming, “Though I get the impression that it won’t be quite so easy.”

“I can try,” Emu offers, “You’re probably right about it not being easy.”

Poppy grabs his arm, “But first!” She declared, “Since Yuko’s still asleep, you should come see my cabinet!”

The inside of Poppy’s cabinet is as cheerful and colorful as the outside. For the most part, there was only one wall that wasn’t somehow visible through the screen to the outside. Though, Emu had to admit it was… odd. He’d never really gone inside something, like this. Poppy did it all the time, but Emu hadn’t even known he could do it, until he saw Poppy do it. Even then he’d never bothered trying.

Once Poppy was done showing him every detail of her cabinet, she jumps out, then looks at Emu expectantly. He blinks, “Poppy,” He begins, then looks away sheepishly, “Um, I… don’t know how to get out.”

“Oh!” Poppy gasped, “Hold on, I’ll help you!”

It took Poppy half an hour of teaching for Emu to figure out how to get out of the cabinet.

Later, once Yuko had awoken, Emu found himself in the patient room, Asuna by his side, attempting to convince Yuko that Nico would be fine and could handle herself. A feat easier said than done, because Yuko was terribly stubborn, Nico had been plenty right about that. Yuko’s sitting up in bed, stubbornly not listening.

Emu had his work cut out for him, “I know it seems like Nico isn’t… well suited for this-”

“Because she’s not,”

“-But she’s really proven her skills as a Rider.”

“Has she?”

Some part of Emu thought that she hadn’t listened to a word he’d said. She probably hadn’t, given how she acts. Still, he wasn’t about to give up, they really needed Nico’s help. Gemn and Ex-Aid were both too strong, with Revol bordering on the edge. They hadn’t seen Revol fight much, but they knew that he’d be harder to fight than last time.

Taking a deep breath, he reminds her, “Nico is more than capable of being Snipe,” Then, more forcefully, he adds, “And she’s worried about you, even if she isn’t good at showing it.”

“I don’t know why she’s the one worrying,” Yuko scoffs, “She’s the one putting herself in danger willy-nilly.”

He needs a moment to stare at her before responding. After last night, he was still a bit tired emotionally, so he really, really didn’t want to blow up at her. But god was she making it hard. He takes another deep breath, and answers, “Yuko, she’s worried because you’ve been infected and we’re forced to work with one less Rider than our already one less Rider team, because your view of Nico seems to make it impossible for her attacks to do anything to Revol.” He levels her with a serious look, “We just can’t be having that right now.”

Admittedly, he could probably have phrased that all better, perhaps in less a blunt manner, but he really didn’t have the energy to right now. He was still a bit tired and frankly, didn’t feel like dealing with this.

Crossing her arms, Yuko just shrugs, “Whatever,” She rolls her eyes, “That’s not my problem.”

“It really is,” He shakes his head, “You’re the one who will suffer because we aren’t able to do our jobs properly. If we can’t defeat Revol, you die. And fighting Bugsters is a part of our job, Saki, mine, andNico’s.”

Yuko doesn’t respond, instead huffing and looking away. Emu shakes his head, figuring that he’s not going to succeed in convincing her of much. So with that, he leaves.

At some point while he was trying to talk with Yuko, Nico arrived at the CR, looking rather annoyed. When he walks up the stairs, she looks at him, “No luck, I bet?” He shakes his head in response, prompting her to continue, “Yuko’s really stubborn.”

Saki sighs, “I just wish Nico would be in a better position to fight against Revol…” she shakes her head, “I suppose what we’ll have to do is let Emu fight Ex-Aid, then Nico can deal with Kuroto if he’s there, if not she can help Emu. I’ll deal with Revol.”

“Not like I’ve got a better plan,” Emu agreed.

---

“Feeling better, Mu?” Kuroto watches Mu peek out from under the blankets of the nest. When they’d returned the evening before, Mu had made his way there and curled up. Kuroto wasn’t sure why he’d had such a reaction to the Mighty Brothers XX Gashat, but it was a bit worrying. Mu hadn’t exactly said much about how he’d been feeling, other than not good.

“Yeah, I guess,” Mu responds, coming out from under the blankets. He rubs his eyes a bit, “It felt like… I don’t know.”

Kuroto considered his words for a moment, “Perhaps you shouldn’t use the Gashat again until I can figure out what’s wrong with it.”

At that, Mu seemed hesitant, “I don’t know…” He considered it for a moment, “Let’s see if maybe it was just a result of using it for the first time?”

“Are you sure?”

With an uncomfortable looking smile, Mu nods, “Yeah, besides, it only started bugging me after, not while I was still transformed, so if it’s still a problem, it won’t be much of one until after the fight.” Despite his attempts to be reassuring, Kuroto clearly wasn’t too convinced.

After a moment, he sighed, “Fine, but if it starts causing problems sooner, tell me.”

“Okay!”

---

Just like before, Revol targeted Nico while she was out and about. And just like before, Saki and Emu were there to help. They doubted that Emu’s attempted conversation with Yuko did little to effect Nico’s ability to fight the Bugster.

Of course, with the Bugster, was Kuroto and Ex-Aid. Which was probably overkill since Ex-Aid alone had been able to defeat both Nico and Saki. But Emu had a tentative plan to deal with that. Or well, the entirety of the plan was to fight Ex-Aid himself and let Saki and Nico deal with Gemn and Revol. But it was better than nothing, and he might at least stand a chance against Ex-Aid.

Though Kuroto quickly transformed, prompting Saki and Nico to do the same. Ex-Aid, though, hesitated for a moment, glancing down at his Gashat. Briefly, Emu wonders if it has something to do with his and Kuroto’s sudden departure yesterday. Still, Ex-Aid activates the Gashat and transforms, taking on the form that looks a like a Level 1.

Following suit, Emu transforms into his Perfect Puzzle form, knowing that brute strength probably wouldn’t do him much good. No, he’d need more of a strategy on his side, rather than strength, if he wanted to defeat Level 50.

Though Ex-Aid did not seem to have a specific desire to fight Emu, he still seemed to be putting an effort in. Emu blocks an attack from his sword.

They’re close at the moment, and were it not for that, he probably wouldn’t have heard the strange question that came from Ex-Aid, “Why did Graphite give you that Gashat?” It seemed he too knew of Graphite’s no longer death. Though that begged the question why Graphite hasn’t helped him or Kuroto. “And how did you give it data? Only a Bugster should have been able to do that-” With his last question, Ex-Aid seemed to have come to an answer. He pushes back on his sword, knocking Emu away.

For a moment, Ex-Aid just stares at Emu, before reaching for the lever on his Gamer Driver. He hesitates, for a moment, before flicking it over and splitting in two. This fight just got a lot harder.

---

“I want to see Nico,” Yuko demanded, “To make sure she hasn’t gone and done anything else stupid.”

Asuna just gently put a hand on her shoulders, halting her attempts to get out of bed, “You need to rest.”

Yuko scoffs, “What rest will I get while she’s out gallivanting like some crazy person?”

Sighing, Asuna relented, “If I take you to Nico, will you rest afterwards?”

“Yes!” Yuko huffs in response, “Let’s go!” As Asuna helps her out of the bed, Asuna mutters something about stubbornness.

When they arrive at where Nico and the others are, Yuko doubts that Asuna had intended for her to see the fight. The one she can identify as Snipe – so Nico – along with a lighter blue one was fighting some black and white guy. A different sort of blue one was fighting two guys, one cyan, one orange.

Though Yuko’s eyes mostly went to Nico. For some reason, she kept fighting that guy, even though she was clearly out matched, but why? It was so stupid, clearly she didn’t have an ounce of self-preservation.

Asuna places a hand on her shoulder, “Nico’s fighting for you,”

“What?”

“She can’t fight Revol directly, but she can fight Gemn, make sure he doesn’t interfere with the defeat of your Bugster,”

Revol. Most likely the strange monster over there, not really doing anything. Yuko doesn’t understand it but… She knows she wants it gone.

She watches Nico intently, how she keeps a distance and tries to dodge as many as that Gemn’s attacks as possible. Then when she sees an opening, she uses it to attack, still able to keep her distance. Perhaps….

Maybe Nico was more suited for this than she had thought.

The one weird blue one was knocked back, down on the ground by the pair of Riders. Gemn gets a good hit on the lighter blue one and knocks her down, her transformation disappearing, revealing Saki, as two Gashats clutter to the ground. Nico attempts to keep him from getting much closer, only for him to run up and knock her down too, her transformation disappearing. Gemn leans down and picks up the Gashats that Saki had dropped. Right as Yuko’s about to worry he’ll do the same with the three that Nico dropped, one of the pair of Riders does something strange.

Double Mighty Critical Finish!

Yet instead of striking one of the Riders, like one would think he would, the orange Rider strikes Revol, destroying him. Though Gemn sucks up the resulting cloud into his strange device, he looks at the cyan and orange Riders confused. Startled, the cyan Rider flips the lever on his Driver and the orange one merges with him. Then the armor disappears entirely.

The man in the hoodie from earlier, Nico called him Mu, once, sways on his feet as he makes his way over to Gemn “Kuroto,” He calls weakly, “It… It’s happened again…”

The armor around Gemn disappears, revealing none other than former Gemn Corp CEO – however briefly – Kuroto Dan. He appears concerned as Mu grabs his arm. Mu says something quietly and the two quickly leave.

Yuko rushes towards Nico, as the last Rider, Emu, untransforms, “Nico!”

Nico just groans, “I’m okay, Yuko, so don’t bother.”

She just stops in her tracks at Nico’s words. Yuko considers what she’d saw that day. Hurriedly, she blurts, “I’m sorry!”

“What?”

“I’m sorry for insisting that you stop being Snipe. I should have listened to you.” Yuko clarified, slowly, “I’m sorry that I didn’t trust you, but I’ve clearly seen that I was wrong.”

Blinking, Nico sighed, “If you say so,” She pulls herself up, “Just stop pestering me about being Snipe, alright?”

“Alright,”

---

Kuroto watched Mu curl up under his blankets in the nest, “Mu,” He called softly, “What happened with Revol earlier?”

Mu glances over at him, “I don’t know,” He answered, pulling the blankets closer, “For some reason, the second player just… Decided to get rid of Revol. But at least we still got his data.”

Considering his words, Kuroto nods, “I suppose,” Then he holds his hand out, “Mu, I’d like to check over the Mighty Brothers XX Gashat, given the repeat of yesterday we had, and the mysterious actions of the second player.”

Without hesitation, Mu hands over the Gashat, “Okay, I hope you can figure it out,”

“Me too, Mu, me too.”

“What about Brave’s Gashats?”

There’s something concerning about the look on Kuroto’s face when he answers, “I have a use for Taddle Quest,”

[having-a-hyperfixate]

Week 2, Day 2

Safety cut, line breaks where the original posts ended.

WELL WE’RE OFF TO A GREAT START THAT’S A PROMISING VISION. I expect that’ll be referencing- Well the mission showed up as I was typing this FUCK ME. I expect that’ll be referencing the scene from the release date trailer and now back to me screaming.

TODAY’S MISSION IS WHAT. FUCK ME. EVEN IF THIS GUY ISN’T NEKU OR ANYONE ELSE I ALREADY KNOW. EVEN IF HE HADN’T SAVED MY ASS LAST WEEK. NOT HAPPENING. FUCK YOU SHIBA. RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!!!!!!!

-----------------------

I had to go run errands (I forgot the god damn garlic butter whyyyy) and am SLIGHTLY calmer now. Gonna pick it back up in a sec but I wanted to take a moment to appreciate the hilarity of Shoka thinking there’s even the slightest chance Neku would EVER join them. Dude. He hated the whole system under the old rules, and these rules are MUCH MUCH crueler. Ain’t no way in hell. If he did join it would be purely to immediately assassinate them all.

I think the Officers, at least, are probably expecting that. I don’t buy that they’re using the Players to hunt him down so they can make sure he’s legit and then recruit him. I think its more like using the Players to wear him down and then swoop in for the kill.

And on that cheery note, let’s do this thing.

-----------------------

Just got back to the Scramble after going out past Cat Street (where is Wildkat. WHERE) and uh. What is Shiba talking about. Excuse me. Oh boy. This is about to suck isn’t it.

*deep breath*

shitshitshitshitshitshitshit GIRL DON’T DO IT HE’S A PERSON HE’S NOT SOME KIND OF NOISE NONONONONONONONO ohfuckohno 

Praise be to rewinding time JEEZ.

Ok first of all fuck me. Second, Tsugumi’s clearly Not Okay? She wasn’t gonna do it and then skeezy said he’s not a Reaper or a Player so he might as well be Noise and the sound she made… 

If I understood what happened in A New Day correctly, she was IN Shinjuku when it Inverted, whatever the hell that means. So she has probably Seen Some Shit. And who knows if she’s been in the UG since that happened. Or even when that happened.

“we need to find him before that public execution” YOU DON’T SAY.

This game stresses me out.

-----------------------

So I went toward Shibuya Hikarie first and I guess this is the way I was supposed to go cuz Kariya gave me a hint and now I’ve found a Pureheart who almost had a heart attack from being glared at too hard.

He’s headed toward the River. I. Aaaaaah….

Edit: Nope it looks like I’m gonna have to do all three.

-----------------------

After staring at that logic puzzle for WAY TOO LONG ahaha we are. back at the bus terminal. Right by the River.

AND Tsugumi is already here. AWESOME. Well we know where it is now. Here goes everything nothing…

-----------------------

I’M SORRY WHAT?! WHY IS. W- MR M- WHY IS HER MR MEW EVIL?!?!

………………………. WHAT.

how badly is this thing gonna kick my ass >.>

-----------------------

Thankfully demon Mr Mew didn’t kick my ass.

AND I FINALLY KNOW FOR SURE WHO THE GUY IS.

WHY THE HELL ARE YOU BACK HERE BEAT. I WOULD LIKE AN EXPLAIN. PLZ. Some things never change though. Saw some kids hung out to dry and said screw that. I cannot wait for the chaos that is no doubt about to unfold. I wonder it he’ll have a special psych as well. I wonder if Minamimoto recognized Beat. Or vice versa.

So that person behind the computer screen HAS to be Rhyme then. They were also blonde. With Beat being in the UG it would make sense that she’s looking for a way to contact him somehow. I wonder if there’s some kind of coordinated cross-layer operation going on.

Kariya has to know SOMETHING, right? He pointed me in the right direction, and even brought up the ‘but is it really Neku’ question.

Speaking of, I would like to know what happened to him after Coco shot him. …. I might have an actual cry if Beat came here looking for Neku. My heart would not be able to handle it.

[starjeno]

destined | l.mh | 3

genre: fluff | soulmate!au, genderswap!au pairing: student!mark x female!reader warnings: bad words? word count: 1973 summary: it’s a fact of life that soulmates swap bodies. when mark wakes up in a bed that isn’t his, he’s delighted. you, on the other hand, absolutely despise it. a/n: filler chapter, sorry! and i know it’s been a while since i’ve posted. also, i gave the roommate a name finally. 

the sunset filtering through your curtains fills the room with hazy light. it’s soft and golden and comforting, but it does little to placate your roommate. her arms remain crossed over her chest as you pace by the mini-fridge nervously, waiting for this interrogation to end.

“okay, but what did yuta say?” she’s already somehow familiarized herself with the names of the people involved, and while it took some time for her to get used to your new appearance, she currently seems to have grown accustomed to it. you groan, “i told you, yuta likes this whole thing. he just ignored me and then said that i should take mark into consideration.”

“why can’t mark take you into consideration instead?” she retorts. you huff, “i told you this too! mark also thinks i like this whole thing!”

“well? do you?”

you can’t help the hesitation that bubbles up in your throat when you think about the events of earlier. the rapid beating of your heart and the heat in the tips of your ears and the strange familiarity that accompanied each of mark’s words — he felt like a missing puzzle piece, like someone you loved in a past life, and you didn’t like how you unconsciously gravitated towards him as he spoke. 

then again, you only saw him for a few hours, so maybe you’re overexaggerating. you shake your head firmly, “i don’t! you know that! i don’t want any of this!”

she gives you an unplaceable look, her eyes filled with contemplation, before groaning and sitting up, “let’s go out to eat. you’ve had a rough day.”

“you’ll pay?”

“yeah,” she sighs, running a hand through her hair, “i don’t want you to confuse the cashier with your credit card info. let’s get out of here.”

it’s a blessing that your roommate has kun. she’s accumulated enough of his clothing that your new body has a decent selection to choose from. though the clothes all fit loosely, you figure tucking your dress shirt into your pants and looping a belt tightly through should make sure your outfit is secure. she stands in the doorway as she watches you change, blushing feverishly when she associates your initial meeting with yuta with the boxers that now hug you snugly. 

“where do you feel like eating?” 

you hum in thought as you grab a cap, “honestly? kun’s place. he makes such good food.”

she rolls her eyes before dialing her boyfriend’s number on the phone. it rings for a few seconds until the line clicks and you hear a deep voice fill the speaker, “what’s up? you only call at this time when you’re hungry. or horny. or both. please don’t be both.”

“uh, just hungry. also, ____ and i have something we should tell you,” she mumbles, “i’ll be over in five.”

she hangs up before looking over to me and sighing, "i'll do your hair."

as you sit down in front of a mirror and watch your roommate squeeze out a frightening amount of gel onto her palm, you can't help but think about mark again. it's hard not to since his face is the reflection and it shines with a bright optimism that you currently lack. you attempt a half-hearted smile to make his features seem pleasant; it feels wrong when his face frowns.

meanwhile, the girl behind the chair slicks your hair in a neat quiff, sparing a few strands to fall onto your forehead casually. you look handsome, and you're somewhat pleased that kun's first impression of your soulmate will be great on terms of looks.

not that you cared particularly. you don't. you aren't even sure you know what a mark is, much less feel as if others should approve of him.

"there, let's go," she hums, wiping her hands off with a towel and spritzing some floral scent on the two of you before walking out. you follow reluctantly.

kun's apartment is cute and filled with small plants that are groomed to perfection. little canvases with a dramatic ink strokes line the walls above the television and couches, and pens are littered in the corners of every room. there's even a pen tucked into the pocket of the man himself, who is still in the ironed dress shirt he went to work in.

his smile radiates as the two of you walk into the hall, but you can sense the air tension rise, “mina and . . . a friend?”

“ha ha, very funny, kun. you won’t believe who this is,” your roommate grins as you two sit down. kun pauses for a bit before backing into his kitchen, grabbing a spare pan to add on top of the stove, thinking, “uh, a cousin? your long-lost brother? i thought ____ was coming over.”

“exactly,” she huffs before motioning over to you, “meet mark, or better known as ____ in mark’s body.”

kun gasps and points the pan at you accusingly, laughter lacing his voice, “oh my god, you fucking swapped?”

you grin and place a hand to drag the pot down, “i know, it’s crazy.”

“at least he’s cute,” the dimpled boy chuckles, sighing in disbelief. he definitely knew you well.

“agreed,” you smile a bit and your roommate shoots you a short-lived glare before looking at kun, “so we came here to destress from such a horrific event by eating your food.”

“that sounds like a plan . . . ,” he muses, a small smile growing on his face as he takes out cooking oil, “you guys can just chill, and i’ll have something cooked up in ten.”

as soon as you pull your phone out, a notification slides onto a screen. you bite your lip as the social messaging app displays the message of a new follower, and when you hold down for more details, you instantly recognize the handle.

mark. he must've searched you up, and if he's managed to follow you on here, he's probably found all your socials by now. as if on cue, you see three more notifs slide gracefully on your phone, beaming with a new friend request. you aren’t sure if you’re happy or annoyed, or a bit of both, but you hold down and open the app to find a new direct message awaiting your approval.

mark1ee (online): hi! sorry if this is creepy but i figured we’re friends now, so...

good lord. you bite your lips to keep from laughing at his shyness, finding it adorable, and avert your eyes from your phone. mina glares at you quizzically, raising a brow as if to ask what you’re amused at, but you simply shake your head emphatically and begin to type back.

you: how’d you know my last name? there’s probably more than one ____ out there. mark1ee is typing . . .

"here, some cheesy ass lasagna. i put, like, five different kinds of cheese in there, or just whatever was in my fridge.” kun slides two plates to you and your roommate and grabs the nearest chair to sit. he looks at you as you tentatively poke at the stuffing, “i didn’t poison it, you know.”

“shut up, i’m critiquing it!” you laugh as you place a food-filled fork in your mouth, smiling at the instant flavor, “whoa, i forgot how good you are at this.”

he lowers his brows as he smiles, “you mean you forgot my job is in the culinary arts?” 

you face downwards as kun strikes up a conversation with your roommate and glance at the notification on your phone. it doesn’t take a moment of hesitation for you to swipe and check mark’s message.

mark1ee (online): i checked the profile pictures. it would be a lot easier to make sure i’m contacting the right person if i had your number ;) you: how smooth. how do i know this is the mark i met earlier today? mark1ee (online): already asking for pics? damn. mark1ee sent a photo mark1ee (online): i forgot that it’s basically just a pic of you lmao :/ now pls send #

you snort and look up to find your roommate and kun staring at you intently. you wave your hand dismissively, "funny meme, sorry."

they give you a strange look before resuming the conversation, and you hide your phone under your leg before digging into the meal before you.

"so, what's going on?"

at the question, yuta sighs as mark walks in, his hand rubbing a towel through his wet hair, "winwin is coming back early. a week early."

"are you not excited?" mark quips. the older male tiredly grins, "i'm excited, believe me. but i'm worried that i won't pay enough attention to your switch."

mark frowns, the wrinkles ruining the feminine face, "i'll be fine. she just sent me her number!"

he takes a seat by yuta and faces the flatscreen in front, his glossy eyes reflecting the bright lights of the video game. yuta glances at his long lashes and soft brows for a moment before resuming the screen, "damn, good job. maybe you have enough game to survive without me."

"wha- fuck you! and you'll still be here!" mark laughs, picking up the other controller.

"i'm running away with winwin, by the way," yuta jokes. he lets mark join the round before pressing the buttons again, "now that you have her number, what are you going to do? ask her on a date?"

mark freezes. he hadn't even thought of what to do, and right now, yuta feels like a personal certified love guru. what a great fucking idea! before he could spend more time admiring yuta's genius, mark drops the controller and sends a new text to you, hoping for a stroke of luck.

he didn't really need luck though. he had literally found his soulmate that morning.

you: wanna go on a date? nctzn (online): how would i get clothes, doof? i'm wearing my roomie's bf's shit now :/ you: well, keep wearing them and i'll buy myself a dress? i don't care what you wear though, i'm not a great dresser.

mark is lying to his new form. he had always considered himself as someone with a good eye for outfits and color coordination. he sighs as the green dot by your profile that signifies your online presence fades away, and he figures he should probably find another way to pass the time while you’re offline. yuta waits expectantly, “well?”

“clothing’s an issue. and i don’t even know where i should take her,” mark grins, “it’s going to feel so weird, like going on a date with myself? trippy.”

“you’ll survive, it’s not like you’re ugly,” yuta sighs as he rolls his eyes with exasperation. mark doesn’t respond. he’s too preoccupied with the idea of you to even process yuta’s words. he’s never felt so giddy about a girl before — even his middle school crushes never got him feeling this jittery. conversation with you flowed so smoothly, and even mark knew how strange it was to feel this way after one conversation. 

he’s glad you reciprocate his feelings. everything’s he heard about soulmates seems to be true: you fit him well. mark knows he should be a little more hesitant, but this is finally a dream come true. you’re a dream come true. 

you: let’s go on a date tmrw then? nctzn (online): ok why not

mark glances up at the bright orange sky. the sun has only just started to set and the evening barely grazes the warm colors. are you just as happy as he is now? is your head filled with thoughts of him, the same way he can’t stop thinking about you?

mark’s pauses, not sure if he should dare to think his next question, but the idea floats in his head anyway and he turns pink with embarrassment.

yuta turns away, silent.

prev | masterlist | next

[lunasilvermorny]

Rath and Luna - Part 1

Pride month - Day 9.

So for the longest time I’ve been talking about Luna and Rath’s relationship, but never really got to the details, because things only start kicking in at the end of year 5 and most of it is in year 6, which I am not in yet. (and probably never will be, because of a certain incident that made me quit the game,) Also, in my headcanon, year 5 is when season 2 of the Quidditch plot is happening and it’s not over yet, so I don’t have all the details...

Anyway, there are a lot of missing puzzle pieces for me, so I wanted to wait.

But since it doesn’t look like I’ll go back playing this game any time soon, I’ve decided to just write whatever I want and screw JC’s canon.

Enjoy!

--------------------------------------------------------------

Year 4

*Rath gave Luna a dirty look and left*

Luna: Did you see that?

Penny: *worried* Yeah, she’s really-

Luna: Into me! God, so embarrassing.

Penny: What?

Luna: I mean, I’m flattered, but girl, control your hormones.

Penny: …

Penny: Sweetie, I think you might be the one that needs to control her hormones.

Luna: Are you kidding me? She just stared at me for like a minute straight.

Penny: Oh, right, I forgot that’s how you flirt. When normal people do it, it’s usually a bad sign.

Luna: I don’t think she even blinked.

Penny: I’ve already lost you, haven’t I?

Luna: I mean, again, I’m flattered-

Penny: Yep, you’re gone.

--

*Rowan and Luna in the library*

Rowan: Luna, are you listening to me?

Luna: Wha-? Huh? Of course I am. How can you even ask that?

Rowan: I just said the words ‘pop quiz’ and you weren’t even excited about it.

Luna: Oh, no, mate. I’m totally up for it! Yay!

Rowan: Where did your mind go? You’re not the type to zone-out, especially not while studying.

Luna: You’re right, sorry, It’s just… Do you remember Rath?

Rowan: That awful monstrous girl that keeps threatening you?

Luna: Exactly!

Rowan: What about her?

Luna: Well, call it a hunch-

Rowan: Oh, no.

Luna: But I think she’s into me.

Rowan: Yep, this is happening. You are officially too thirsty for this school.

Luna: Oh, come on. I have proof.

Rowan: Oh, you do, do you?

Luna: She keeps staring at me.

Rowan: And physically assaulting you.

Luna: It’s banter!

Rowan: Luna, you cracked your ulna!

Luna: Psssh, bones are meant to be broken.

Rowan: Is that another quote?

Luna: …

Luna: No.

Rowan: Good, because it’s awful.

Luna: She’s into me!

Rowan: No, she’s not. Also, stop falling for straight girls!

Luna: What? She’s totally gay.

Rowan: She’s not. Trust me, I have a very good gaydar-

Luna: You have the worst gaydar! You thought Andre was straight.

Rowan: He likes sports! That’s on him, really.

Luna: Oh, please.

Rowan: Fine, whatever. But your gaydar is broken as well, especially when you like someone or should I remind you of the incident with Penny?

Luna: What?! That’s ridiculous and I’m appalled that you even-! Okay, I see your point, but this time it’s different.

Rowan: I just don’t want to see you getting hurt.

Luna: I mean, it wouldn’t be the end of the world. There are plenty of other people who’d love to be in her place.

Rowan: …

Rowan: Forget what I just said, you’re a complete douche and you deserve all the misery you get.

Luna: Thanks for the support, buddy.

Rowan: Now can we please quiz each other?

Luna: Yes! Let’s do it, boy!

Rowan: Thank you! Was that so hard?

--

Rath: Get out of my way, Silver. *She shoved Luna*

Penny: Rude.

Luna: God, I can’t stand these endless flirting, it’s exhausting.

Penny: Did you hit your head the last time she pushed you?

Luna: Probably.

Penny: Thought so.

--

Year 5

Luna: Hey, Andre?

Andre: Hey, how’s it going-?

Luna: Have you talked to Rath yet?

Andre: Whoops, gotta go.

Luna: You can’t hide from me forever, Egwu!

Andre: Get help!

Luna: Talk to her!

--

*Luna stayed in the changing room after everyone’s already left*

Luna: Where the hell did I put my-

Rath: Silver.

Luna: *jumps and turns immediately* Um, hi?

Rath: …

Luna: *hides behind the lockers* This is a changing room, you know?

Rath: …

Luna: Just, can you turn around for a second?

*Rath rolled her eyes and then turned around*

*Luna quickly finished changing*

Luna: So what can I do for you, love?

Rath: *turning back* Don’t call me that.

Luna: Fine. What do you want?

Rath: You’re talking about me.

Luna: …

Rath: …

Luna: Want to be a bit more specific, love?

Rath: I told you not to call me that.

Luna: I’m really enjoying this conversation, Rath, but I have other things to do. So unless you’re here to confess your love for me-

Rath: Here. You did it again.

Luna: Did what?

Rath: Talked about me.

Luna: I’m talking to you, love-

Rath: Stop calling me that!

Luna: Okay, sorry. It slips.

Rath: And stop talking about me.

Luna: Alright, but if we’re making demands, how about you stop “bumping” into me whenever you walk past me?

Rath: …

Rath: Then move out of the way.

Luna: *gets in her face* Do you like it? Because that’s what you’ve been doing to me for the last year and a half.

Rath: *moves her head*

Luna: What? Why don’t you just move out of my way? So what if I’m invading your personal space. That was your logic, right?

Rath: …

Rath: Can you move?

Luna: What’s the magic word?

Rath: …

Luna: *moves away* Forget it. Look, I won’t talk about you anymore, but if you keep acting like an arse, I will retaliate.

Rath: …

Rath: Watch you back.

Luna: Or what? You’ll climb over it so I could give you a piggy-back ride?

*This time, Rath got in her face*

Luna: Told you you’re doing that.

Rath: You don’t want to mess with me.

Luna: Are you sure? Because I’m totally down for messing around, if you want to.

Rath: Just keep your mouth shut next time.

Luna: How should I put it? I’m not afraid of you, love. Come at me with everything you’ve got.

Rath: …

Rath: We’ll settle it on the next match.

Luna: Okay, whatever.

*Rath left without saying another word*

Luna: Such a tease.

--

Rowan: She threatened you?!

*Luna and Skye turned around*

Luna: Dammit, where did you come from?

Rowan: This is the common room, you know.

Skye: Listen to your pal, Luna. Rath is bad news.

Luna: Like you’re the one to talk, you big gossip.

Skye: I’m just saying, expect a bludger to break your ribs in the near future, hot-shot.

Luna: For the last time, it was an accident!

Skye: Why, because she said so?

Luna: Yes!

Rowan: Can we go back to the part where she threatened you!

Luna: She’s harmless, relax.

Rowan: Harmless?! She’s a brute!

Skye: Glasses is right.

Rowan: I have a name-

Skye: Yeah, whatever. I’m going to practice some more. Keep your eyes open, she’ll be after you.

Luna: Why do I even bother talking to you?

Skye: *shrugs* Later, mate.

*Skye left*

Rowan: …

Luna: Have you heard that Papa finally-

Rowan: Don’t change the subject!

Luna: Oh my god.

Rowan: I want to know exactly what happened!

Luna: *sighs* It was nothing. She was crossed with me for telling everyone that she’s into me and tried to scare me off. It didn’t work, so stop panicking.

Rowan: I don’t like it.

Luna: She is harmless. Don’t listen to Skye, she’s taking their rivalry way too seriously.

Rowan: Maybe you should too.

Luna: Rath is not good with words, Andre told me himself. She’s a lot nicer than she’s letting people know.

Rowan: Just promise me you’ll be careful.

Luna: Stop being dramatic.

Rowan: …

Luna: Fine, I promise.

--

*Luna sat with some friends in the courtyard*

Rath: Silver.

*Rowan, Penny and Jimmy gave her a dirty look. Luna smirked*

Luna: Rath.

Rath: …

Luna: Guys, I’ll be right back.

*She and Rath went to the side*

Luna: How can I help, love?

Rath: *annoyed* I’m a good Beater.

Luna: Yes, you are. Is that what you wanted to tell me?

Rath: Let me finish.

Luna: *chuckles* But then I wouldn’t be able to get under your skin.

Rath: …

Rath: I’m a good Beater. I don’t need to threaten you. I can just crush you in the upcoming game.

*Luna crossed her arms in amusement*

Rath: Let’s keep it professional.

Luna: Aw, so the mud-fight if off?

Rath: …

Rath: That’s all I wanted to say.

*She turned to leave but Luna stopped her*

Luna: Wait, wait. I get it. I’m sorry. I accept your apology.

Rath: I don’t apologize.

Luna: Of course, but I accept it anyway.

*Rath gave her a nasty look and left*

Luna: Aw, yeah. It’s all coming together.

[myforeverforlife]

ice queen.

For @skjdln who requested Hogwarts!au (Slytherin reader) + Enemies to lovers + 10. “You know I’d do anything for you.”

(I know I said the requests would be drabbles, but this request turned into a whole 4k fic and honestly I had no intention of stopping 😅)

Word Count: 4,066

Masterlist

You’ve always worked hard to get what you want, what you deserve. It’s how you’ve come to achieve so much in your five years at Hogwarts. As one of the Slytherin prefects, you were constantly aware of how your appearance and conduct were visible to the rest of your peers. Robes clean and without a wrinkle, wand tucked securely away, voice calm yet stern when need be — especially when reprimanding students that were goofing off in the hallways.

A raucous burst of laughter echoed down the hallway to the dining hall, heavy footsteps clattering against the cobblestoned floor. You knew this laugh — it was the same one that has plagued you since you first came to Hogwarts. You waited with arms crossed for the usual culprit to come rounding the corner. Sure enough, Byun Baekhyun came zooming into view, black hair a mess as he continued to laugh. He stopped only once he saw you, freezing in place and clearing his throat.

“Oh. Hello,” he coughed out.

“Running in the hallways again, Baekhyun? 5 points from Gryffindor.”

Baekhyun rolled his eyes, posture loosening up as the two of you fell into one of your usual squabbles. “You know, as your elder, you should be treating me with more respect.”

“You would think that being a year older would also mean that you are more mature than me. Sadly, we both know that’s not true.”

Baekhyun’s eyes narrowed as he scowled at you, still out of breath from running down the halls. His mouth opened to come up with an equally scathing remark, only to be cut off by the sound of Kyungsoo yelling his name. He quickly glanced over his shoulder before breaking off into a sprint.

“Hey! What did I say about running!” you shouted after him, huffing in annoyance.

All he did was give you a wave of his hand in goodbye as he disappeared, most likely on his way back to the common room to escape from Kyungsoo’s wrath.

Kyungsoo came stomping into view, his green tie askew and glasses slipping down his nose. “Where did that pesky brat go?” he muttered under his breath.

“He ran upstairs, although I did manage to stop him for a bit. What did he do this time?”

“Covered my shoes with some... some sort of disgusting matter.” You followed his gaze down to his shoes, purple slime coating most of the surface.

“Ah, slime. The Muggle-born students have been introducing it to their peers,” you thought aloud.

“Is it poisonous? Will it make me break out in hives? Should I go see Madame Pomfrey?”

Shaking your head with a smirk, you reached down to pick up a glob. “Perfectly safe. More of a nuisance than anything, but you’ll be fine. You should be glad he didn’t get any on your hair.”

Kyungsoo fixed his tie, thanking you when you pushed his glasses back up onto his face. “I have to walk around with this on my shoes until I get back to the common room,” he complained.

“You better hurry along then. We’re both on patrolling duty tonight.”

With a grunt of acknowledgement, Kyungsoo trudged away to the dungeons, mentally searching for a spell to magic the gunk off of his shoes.

Baekhyun was notorious for messing around and pulling pranks on all students, regardless of what house or year they were in. But recently, it seemed like the sixth year student had been targeting you and your friends even more than before. You weren’t even sure why you had shown up on his radar in the first place.

Both of you had little to do with each other in your first years at Hogwarts. You knew of each other, and shared some friends in common, but never interacted directly. But during your third year, you ran into him in Hogsmeade while he was out with his friends Jongdae and Chanyeol, the trickster trio, as many called them.

You had been visiting the village for the first time with Kyungsoo and Jongin, but knew enough of Baekhyun’s reputation to stay far away. That worked well enough until you entered Honeydukes in search of some candy. As you reached out for the last box of limited-edition gummy candies, another hand beat you to it.

“Hey!” you exclaimed, frowning once you realized who it was. “I saw it first.”

Baekhyun shrugged, a goofy smile on his lips. “You snooze, you lose.”

His friend Chanyeol came over, his yellow scarf wrapped tightly around his neck. “Aw, just give her the candy, Baek. She’s a third year.”

“Excuse me, but what is that supposed to mean?” you interrupted. “I don’t need to be babied because you’re older than me.”

Chanyeol raised his hands in defense. “Hey, I’m just trying to be nice here. Plus, Baekhyun’s had enough of these for a lifetime.” Baekhyun’s other friend Jongdae, another Gryffindor, just watched the whole exchange with arms crossed, watching you and Baekhyun curiously.

Noticing the chorus of raised voices, Kyungsoo and Jongin came over to your defense. Once you bitterly explained what had happened to them, Jongin simply shrugged. “Why can’t you guys just share it?”

Darned Ravenclaws and their logic. You and Baekhyun both grimaced at the same time. Chanyeol was about to try again to convince Baekhyun to give up when Kyungsoo spoke.

“Who cares Y/N, just let him have it. I’ll bake those strawberry thumbprint cookies again if you want a sweet treat.”

“Really?” Your face lit up as you clutched to Kyungsoo’s arm, bouncing up and down with glee.

Baekhyun’s expression soured and he walked away, Chanyeol and Jongdae watching him in confusion before trailing after.

Since then, Baekhyun had gone out of his way to annoy you, whether it be by popping up out of nowhere during your study sessions in the library, to calling out to you from across entire rooms, even hallways.

You couldn’t even begin to try and understand where all of this behavior was coming from, but you tried to take it all in stride. Besides, you only had another year left after this one, and then Baekhyun would graduate and take all of his excessive energy somewhere else.

“You’re staring at him again.”

Flinching, you immediately focused on the book in front of you, turning the page quickly.

Minseok laughed from across the table, the sound hushed seeing as both of you are currently in the library.

“Stop, you’re going to make him look over here,” you hissed.

“Like you weren’t doing that anyways, staring holes through his back? Just confess to him already.”

You shook your head insistently, still looking down at your book as you pretend to read. “I can’t.”

“Can’t, or won’t?”

“Minseok, you’re supposed to be tutoring me, not playing matchmaker.”

“Who’s playing matchmaker?” a new voice spoke up.

Groaning, you let your head hit the table as Baekhyun took the chair beside you. “What? Is it something I said?” he joked.

“Y/N has a crush on the Head Boy,” Minseok whispered with a chuckle. Just as you were about to kick him in the shin, he moved his legs out of the way. “Nice try,” he teased.

“Head Boy? You mean...” Baekhyun stared across the room at the figure sitting alone, hunched over a large book and quill moving quickly over parchment.

“Yep, Kim Junmyeon,” Minseok filled in. “It does help that they’re in the same house together — Y/N gets more time to stare at him from afar, you lovesick dope.”

Baekhyun turned to look at you. “You’re not in love with Kyungsoo?”

This had you peering up at him, forehead red from where you had been lying facedown on the table. “Kyungsoo? No.”

“But... you guys are always together!” Baekhyun sputtered out.

“He’s my best friend. And anyways, I don’t see how this is any of your business.” 

Baekhyun pouted, but before he had the chance to speak, Junmyeon stood from his seat and gathered up his materials. The only way out of this part of the library was past your table, and your face was already heating up.

“Hi, Minseok!” Junmyeon chirped as he stopped by your table. “You ready for the Quidditch game this weekend?”

“You bet. Ready to lose?” Even if Minseok was a Ravenclaw, he had the competitiveness of a Gryffindor.

Junmyeon laughed softly, the sound so sweet and gentle to your ear. “I hope you mean you’re talking about yourself.” He caught sight of you and grinned. “Hi, Y/N. See you in the common room later.”

You nodded, throat suddenly much too dry. Junmyeon waved to Baekhyun before leaving, a slight bounce to his step.

“You like Kim Junmyeon? Head Boy, Seeker for the Slytherin Quidditch team? Fuck,” Baekhyun mumbled.

Glaring at him, you punched him lightly in the shoulder. “Language. You should be lucky I’m not taking points off for that.”

Ignoring this, Baekhyun leaned back in his seat, letting out a long whistle. “God, Kim Junmyeon. How does anyone beat that?”

“Beat what?”

Baekhyun jumped in his seat, as if he forgot you were even there, nevertheless that he was in a public library. “Nothing.” He got up, chair screeching behind him as he stood. “See you guys later.”

You and Minseok watched as he left, you with a puzzled expression and Minseok with a knowing smirk. “What was that all about?”

Minseok shrugged, reaching out for a new roll of parchment. “Nothing like a competition to get a Gryffindor all riled up.”

The hallways were empty, typical of a Saturday afternoon. Most students were out and taking advantage of their weekend. Unfortunately, you and Kyungsoo were both tasked with prefect duties.

You strolled down one of the second floor hallways, steps slow and steady. Humming mindlessly to yourself, you were about to head down a different path when you hear a quiet murmuring from behind. Spinning around quickly, you were met with nothing — no people, not even the echoes of footsteps. Taking out your wand, you ventured carefully back down the hall, eyes flitting from door to door.

The noise grew louder as you near the abandoned girls’ restroom, and you started to calm down. Moaning Myrtle was the only one, well only ghost, known to inhabit that place. Only a few students have been known to visit her, while the rest were wary of her prickly attitude. You were about to turn away when you heard it — a boy’s voice.

In a flash, you opened the door, wand drawn as you ran inside. “Who’s there?”

Myrtle came floating out from a half-hidden row of stalls, a glare on her face until she saw who it was. However, her glare changed to a more predatory smile, her glasses glinting suspiciously as she giggles. “Oh, is this the girl you were talking about?”

What? Before you could question her, Baekhyun peeked out from behind a corner, his face visible through Myrtle’s translucent form. His eyes widened as soon as he caught sight of you, his mouth falling open. “Y/N!”

“Baekhyun?” You lowered your wand, tucking it back into your robes as you stared at him with raised eyebrows. “What are you doing here in the girls’ bathroom?”

“Oh. I, uh... I was talking to Myrtle.” Baekhyun rubbed at the back of his neck, sending you an awkward smile.

“And wouldn’t you like to know the things we were talking about?” Myrtle cooed as she flew closer, stopping right in front of her face.

“Actually, I wouldn’t.” You peered around her to look at Baekhyun. “Listen, I get that this is an abandoned bathroom, but you still shouldn’t be in here.”

“But how else is he supposed to talk to me?” Myrtle cried, zooming back over to Baekhyun’s side and leaning her head on his shoulder. “Kyoongie’s the only one who understands me nowadays.”

You stifled a laugh. “Kyoongie?”

Baekhyun was as still as a sculpture, eyes looking not at you, but over your shoulder. “Myrtle, please,” he said defeatedly.

With a sigh, the ghost detached herself from him and flew towards one of the stalls, disappearing down the toilet while you watched in a mixture of horror and disgust.

“Where’d she go?” you asked Baekhyun.

“Prefect’s bathroom.”

You groaned at that — who knew how often Myrtle’s been in there while you bathe. “That’s honestly pretty creepy.”

To your surprise, Baekhyun laughed. “I know. I’ve been trying to get her to stop, but she’s obsessed with — ” His voice cut off as he glared into nothing.

“With what?” you pressed on, too curious for your own good.

“Kim Junmyeon.” Baekhyun spat this out bitterly, like it even pained him to say the name.

Your face flushed, both at the mention of your crush and the fact that Myrtle has been peeking in on him. “Oh.”

“What does everyone see in him anyways?”

“Well, he’s sweet. And smart, well-mannered, athletic, and handsome,” you listed, voice trailing off when you noticed Baekhyun pretending to barf. “Hey, you asked.”

“I didn’t think you would be that honest. Okay then, how would you describe me?”

“You? Noisy, annoying, childish — ”

“Okay, okay, I get it. You hate me.”

You were at a loss for words, something that doesn’t happen often. “No, I don’t,” you began carefully. “I just... we don’t get along. We’re too different.”

Baekhyun stared at you, eyes half-hidden behind his bangs as he thinks. “But what if we’re not?” He pressed on, sensing your hesitation. “What if we’re more similar than we think, but we just never got a chance to find out?”

“What are you saying, Baekhyun?”

“I want us to be friends.” Baekhyun took a step closer, hand outstretched. “I mean, half of the people we know are friends already. And I swear, I’m not this annoying all the time.

You eyed his hand warily, weighing the pros and cons. As much as you hate to admit it, he was right — both of you started off on the wrong foot and never gave each other the chance to start over. “Okay.” You shook his hand firmly, not missing how his smile grew even wider.

Baekhyun shook your hand back excitedly, looking happier than you think you’ve ever seen him.

“So... does this mean I get to call you Kyoongie now too?”

He dropped your hand instantly, jumping into a rant about how you couldn’t keep making fun of him this way now that you were friends. While this would have been deathly annoying before, now you were more amused than irritated.

Despite your tumultuous rivalry with Baekhyun, being friends with him was something that came easily to you. Bumping into him in the hallways was much calmer than before, playful words exchanged instead of cold retorts — although you still had to remind him to stop running everywhere. Baekhyun even sat down with you for dinner in the Great Hall the other day, much to the surprise of Kyungsoo and Yixing, your usual tablemates. He’s also been tutoring you in Muggle Studies, taking over Minseok’s role.

“Why not learn from an actual Muggle?” he joked to you when he came to you with the offer.

“First of all, you’re not a Muggle — you’re Muggle-born. Secondly, your study habits worry me.”

“Come on, I know this stuff like the back of my hand.” When Baekhyun stared at you like that, puppy eyes and all, it made it hard for you to say no.

“Fine. But if I keep failing, I’m going back to Minseok.”

But true to his word, Baekhyun actually did know what he was talking about. Even your professor was impressed to see how much you had improved over the course of a few weeks.

These frequent study sessions meant that now it was you and Baekhyun sharing a table in the library until late at night, the candlelight flickering off of the walls and bringing more color to Baekhyun’s skin. As the two of you sat side by side, you couldn’t help but notice how Baekhyun’s nose scrunched up every time he laughed, how he found joy in every little thing. The two of you became each other’s closest confidantes, opening up to each other over the smell of parchment and burning wax.

Tonight was no different, both of you straying off topic and talking about how Myrtle continued to blatantly flirt with Baekhyun’s during his visits.

“She clearly likes you. Why did you start going to see her?” you asked.

Baekhyun’s hand stilled, quill in his hand coming to a halt. “I found her during my first year. I was lonely, and I didn’t have any close friends at the time. I mean, I had friends that I talked to, but none that I felt like I could talk to seriously. You know, like this.” He gestures between the two of you, a warm smile on his face. “I was just looking for somewhere to be by myself, and I heard that the girls’ bathroom on the second floor was empty. Myrtle scared the shit out of me when I saw her, but I realized how lonely she was too. We both needed someone to talk to. So I started going to visit her every so often, and well, here we are now.”

A comfortable silence fell over both of you as you turned back to your studies. Baekhyun watched fondly as you finished journaling last week’s moon phases for Astronomy.

“What made you start liking Junmyeon?” he asked all of a sudden.

You paused, a bit stumped by the question. “I don’t know. I’ve just always thought he was cute. He’s confident, and he knows what he wants from life. I admire that.”

Baekhyun was eerily silent, so much so that you looked over to make sure he was still awake. He met your eye with a strained smile. “You know, it’s not very Slytherin-like of you not to confess to him,” he teased lightly.

Scoffing, you ticked the tip of his nose with your quill. “That’s such a Gryffindor thing to say. I haven’t confessed yet because I’m waiting for the right time. I’m not playing it safe, I’m playing it smart. I’ll know when it’s the right time.”

“If you don’t act soon, someone else will snatch him up before you.”

“Why are you so concerned about my love life?” you countered.

“Because you’re head over heels for a guy that doesn’t even know you! Honestly, Y/N, when have you guys ever had a real, long conversation?”

“A conversation doesn’t have to be long to be real.”

Baekhyun eyed you skeptically. “I’m serious. You just like him because of who he is.”

“So are you calling me superficial? Fine, what if I am? This still doesn’t have anything to do with you.”

“It has everything to do with me!”

“Why?!”

A stern hush broke up your argument, both of you turning around to see the librarian glaring in your direction.

Rolling your eyes, you threw all of your belongings into your bag and walked away before Baekhyun could say anything.

The castle was quiet tonight as your footsteps boomed down the stone corridor. It wasn’t often that you got this angry, but Baekhyun was always able to bring out a side of you that you hadn’t even been aware of.

A hand latched onto your shoulder, spinning you around. Already suspecting who it was, you shoved Baekhyun away from you with one hand. “Leave me alone, Baekhyun.”

“Y/N, please let me explain.”

“Explain what? That after everything you’ve said, you still act like a complete ass to me? Why? I thought we were friends, Baekhyun.”

His eyes fluttered shut as he winced in pain, your words sharp in their truth. “You’re right, and I’m sorry. For everything, really. I just... I can’t watch you pine after Junmyeon anymore. Y/N, I like you.”

Why was it that Baekhyun was the only one with the ability to render you completely speechless?

“Y/N?” he asked, taking a step closer as he watched you worriedly. “Please, say something. Even if it’s just to tell me how much of a jerk I am, just please.”

“You... how long have you liked me for?”

Baekhyun turned red, looking much like the strawberries he loved to eat. “Uh, since that day we met in Honeydukes.”

“You mean when you stole my candies?”

“Hey, I grabbed them first! Wait, that’s not the point though.”  

“You’ve liked me for two years?” you clarified. “You’ve been teasing me for two years because you liked me?”

Baekhyun was bright red at this point. “Yes,” he mumbled meekly, unable to meet your eye.

“What are you, five? That’s such a Gryffindor thing to do!” you exclaimed.

“Yeah? Well it’s such a Slytherin thing to be so preoccupied with Junmyeon that you didn’t even notice me. Why do you think I kept teasing you? It was the only way to get you to look at me, to talk to me.”

“You couldn’t be like any other normal human being and just talk to me?”

“Chanyeol said the same thing,” Baekhyun admitted with a sheepish laugh.

“You... I don’t know what to say. You infuriate me for two years straight, and you think just confessing to me like this makes it all better?”

Baekhyun reached out to hold onto your hands, looking you straight in the eye as he spoke. “I’m sorry. Y/N, please give me the chance to make it up to you. I may be no Hufflepuff, but you know I’d do anything for you.”

What Baekhyun didn’t know was that while he spoke, you had already forgiven him. To be honest, your crush on Junmyeon had been dimming with each passing day. The more you learned about Baekhyun, the more you wanted to be around him, to be a part of the simple joy he exuded. Darn him and his sweetness.

“Good, because you owe me some candy.” You moved closer, your nose barely brushing against his. “In fact, you owe me for all of the stuff you pulled on me.”

“Name it. More candy?”

“Mm, how about a kiss?”

Baekhyun didn’t waste any time, bridging the gap and pressing his lips to yours. You hummed with delight as you kissed him back, your arms finding their way up and over his shoulders. His fingers wound through your hair, gently cradling the back of your head as you nipped gently at his lips.

He pouted when you pulled away, unwilling to let you stray too far from him.

“Come on, we’re going to get in trouble for being out late if we don’t head back to the common rooms soon.”

“You’re a Prefect, you’re practically immune to punishments,” Baekhyun mumbled against your forehead, lips soft as they brushed over your skin.

“Not true. Come on, the sooner we get to sleep the sooner you’ll see me tomorrow.”

Baekhyun perked up at this, pout wiped clean off of his face. “You’re right.” He pulled you close to him, one arm wrapped around your waist as he started to walk you to the Slytherin common room.

“Plus, you can make good on your promise and take me to Honeydukes tomorrow.”

“Ah, she agrees to date me just for the candy. Adds new meaning to the term ‘sugar daddy’, huh?”

Although you weren’t Muggle-born, you had learned enough from others to understand his joke. You pulled away, pretending to be irritated. “Good night, Baekhyun.”

“Wait! Let me walk you back! It’s not safe to walk alone at night.”

“Hogwarts is the safest place in the world,” you called over your shoulder. “And the common room is in the dungeons, you’ll have to take even longer to head back to your own room.”

Baekhyun caught up to you, his hand slipping into your own. “I love my scary girlfriend who lives in the dungeons,” he whispered jokingly into your ear.

Your laughter bounced off of the corridor walls, bringing life to the empty hallways while the majority of the castle was getting ready for bed.

Baekhyun’s teasing was no longer the bane of your existence, but something that you looked forward to everyday. After all, who was Baekhyun without his jokes and laughter. In his own boisterous, cheerful way, he had managed to change your whole perspective of him.

Who’s to say opposites don’t attract?

A/N: this was so much fun to write! i’ve always wanted to write a harry potter au, so i’m glad that @skjdln​ sent this in!

in case you were wondering,

gryffindor: baekhyun and jongdae

hufflepuff: chanyeol (and sehun, but i didn’t get a chance to mention him)

ravenclaw: jongin and minseok

slytherin: junmyeon, kyungsoo, yixing

[xmxisxforxmaybe]

“someone’s happy to see me” and “no touching” from smut promps for reader x sub!snafu? i’m in a subby snaf mood

Ooo, la, la. Subby Snaf. I got so damn into this that I forgot about the dialogue prompts. Forgive me?

Warning: Smut, smut, smut

* * * * *

Visiting your sister always made you happy but coming home to your favorite Cajun made the time away even better. Merriell missed you like crazy when you were gone, and you loved to imagine him at home, sipping his whiskey, smoking his cigarettes, and counting down the hours until you got back.

Your train was early, and as you hailed a taxi, a wicked thought crossed your mind. You had made a few purchases while you were away and now you’d have time to plan a welcome home surprise while Mer was still at work.

Around 4:30, you called the shop and asked the secretary to pass along the message that your train was early and Merriell didn’t need to pick you up.

You walked to the full-length mirror in the bedroom and looked at your reflection again. The tight red lingerie fit like a glove, delicate and see-through in places, you knew it was going to drive Mer wild. You adjusted your updo, loving how you managed to capture the arrogant look of a rich housewife, hoping to hell you could pull off this role. You slipped on the lingerie’s matching silk robe and stepped into a pair of black heels.

You pulled the curtains mostly shut in the living room, allowing only a sliver of sunlight in. You watered down Mer’s whiskey by doubling the ice, the taste too strong for your liking but needing the drink to complete your carefully crafted aesthetic. You lit a cigarette, enjoying the way the smoke burned in your throat, the tingling in your lungs as you held in the first puff as long as you could, and loving the head rush that came when it was time to exhale. You had given up smoking years ago, but god how you craved a cigarette from time to time.  

Finally taking a seat on the sofa, you arranged your robe carefully, covering most of the surprise underneath and only letting your shoulder peek out. You crossed your legs, smiling at the way they caught the bit of sunlight and seemed to glow in the late afternoon sun, and at the way your heels made them look even longer and leaner as your robe edged up obscenely on your thighs.

When you heard the kitchen door open, you had to school your features into an expression of bored indifference because your face was fighting to split into a grin at the thought of Merriell seeing you like this.

You took a quick drink and a quick puff of your cigarette, and when Merriell entered the living room, it took everything inside of you not to break character. It wasn’t often you were the one in control when it came to sex; however, Merriell Shelton stopped dead in his tracks, a light sheen of sweat popping out on his forehead as his eyes widened while he drank you in from head to toe.

He tried to speak and stuttered.

He tried again, clearing his throat as he thrust his hands in his pockets.

“Hi ya.”

“Merriell,” you said in a steady voice, your brow quirking up slightly as you took another drawl of your cigarette.

Merriell’s dazzling green eyes were glued to that cigarette, watching the way your lips wrapped around the edge of the white paper.

“I missed ya. I, uh, wasn’t expectin’ ya until lata.”

“Hence why I called and left a message with your girl. Tell me, Mer. Is this one prettier than the last one?”

Merriell’s mouth popped open as confusion crossed his features. You had met Anita many times and knew she was old enough to be his mother, kinda looked like her, too. And you almost laughed as you literally watched Merriell puzzle out that this was a game, and when he finally did, you could see an arrogant smirk spread across his features.

But this was your game.

“Oh, I don’t think so,” you said, wiping the smirk from his lips with your tone. “Take a shower and then we’ll talk.”

Merriell damn near jumped in his haste to head to the bathroom, but you arched your brow again as you heard him double back just to take one last look at you. He looked you up and down, then shook his head and took off in the direction of the master bath.

When you heard the water turn on, you giggled, swiftly finishing your drink and your cigarette before heading into the bedroom.

You were waiting for him, sitting on the edge of the bed, your legs crossed at the ankles as you leaned back just a little.

Mer came out of the bathroom naked save for the towel he was rubbing through his curls. He tossed it behind him and ran his fingers through his hair, smoothing back his curls so they wouldn’t dry in an unruly style.

“About your new girl. Is she pretty?”

“Ain’t anotha woman on the planet prettier than you and you damn well know it.”

“I’m not convinced, Merriell. When the cat’s away, the mouse will play. And this cat,” you said as you uncrossed your legs slowly and spread them open, revealing part of the lingerie underneath your silk robe, “has been away for quite some time.”

Merriell unabashedly groaned as he took his hardening cock in his hand and began to stroke it.

“Stop,” you commanded. “Did I say you could touch yourself?”

Mer’s hand froze and it looked like it physically pained him, but he removed it, settling both of his hands on his hips now that he was uncertain whether he could move at all or not.

You stood up and slowly untied your robe, your eyes never leaving Merriell’s face as you opened the robe and shrugged it off your shoulders, letting the silky fabric fall behind you onto the floor.

“Fuckin’ holy shit, Y/N,” Merriell muttered, his hand involuntarily reaching for his cock, but you were too fast, closing the distance and grabbing his wrist before he could close his fist over himself.

“Uh, uh, ah,” you tsked. “You won’t be coming in, on, or near this body if you can’t follow orders.”

Mer swallowed thickly, his Adam’s apple bobbing as your eyes swept over his chest and up to his face.

“And you want to come tonight, don’t you?”

He nodded.

You reached out and ran your finger along his jaw, closing your eyes at the familiar sensation of his slight stubble scratching against your skin. Without opening your eyes, you clasped his jaw in your hand and hissed, “Then take off these panties, get on your knees, and show me how much you missed me.”

The noise that left Merriell’s throat was inhuman, a mixture of a growl and a groan and a whine as he dropped to his knees and you fisted his wet hair, wrapping his short curls up in your fingers and holding on tight.

You’d swear in front of a judge and a jury that Merriell Shelton’s fingers were trembling as he reached up to pull down your red panties, the very idea of making this man come so far undone sending a soaking shock of arousal to your core.

And when his tongue slipped between your folds, it was your turn to lose a little of that control. You spread your legs wider as you wobbled a bit on your heels, determined not to let him get a single chance to gain the upper-hand this evening. You pulled on his curls, hard enough to make him hiss, and he looked up at you, his lips wet with your arousal, his eyes so dark they looked like the muddy green of the bayou.

You walked back toward the bed, never taking your eyes off him, and you sat on the edge, hooking your heels between the mattress and the bedframe, once again spreading your thighs. You motioned for him to come to you, and he did, crawling across the floor on his hands and knees. Your mouth popped open as your breath hitched and it took all you had to maintain your dominance.

“What a good boy,” you purred and once again thrust your hand in his hair and shoved his mouth to your wanton, wet center.

You released your grasp and leaned back, happy to let him do what he did best.

Merriell gripped your thighs and opened them further, spreading you wide for his talented tongue. He licked, sucked, and moaned over you, his face buried in your pussy like he intended to die there having finally found his salvation.

His fingers found their way inside of you and he was building you up to an intense orgasm, his fingers working that spongy-sweet spot inside of you and his tongue working your clit with quick, insistent flicks.

“Don’t stop, don’t stop,” you panted, breathless as your orgasm began to take hold, shivering through your body from head to toe as you arched your back and cried out his name.

Merriell was still slowly fucking you with his fingers and slowly licking around your clit as you shuddered through the last of your orgasm, breathy whines escaping your mouth as you closed your legs and pushed him away.

He stayed in his position on the floor, still not touching his cock even though it was rock hard and dripping precum. Mer looked at you, his eyes locked on your face as he waited for his next command.

You slid off the bed, standing up on shaky legs. You unhooked the top of your lingerie set and tossed it over his head, your eyes locked on his, taking in his disheveled hair and the wetness he hadn’t bothered to wipe from his face. He looked a perfect mess, and you wanted him to fuck you, and to fuck you hard.

You kicked off your heels and got back into bed, situating yourself on all fours. Merriell bit back his moan by pressing his lips tightly together, but you could still hear the reverberation through his chest.

“Fuck me, Merriell Shelton. Hard.”

You were shocked there wasn’t a sonic boom with as quickly as that boy moved onto the bed and slammed into your wet pussy.

You let out a loud, strangled gasp as he fucked you, hard, just like you had demanded. It was clear that Mer was trying his best not to just come inside of you within a few thrusts, but you could hardly blame him. It had been a spectacular bout of teasing.

Merriell slowed his pace just a little to reach around and pull you up so that your back was flush against his front. He continued to rock his hips into you, still fucking you but at less brutal pace.

“Stop,” you breathed out, wriggling out of his grasp.

Merriell looked at you in confusion, but you quickly pushed him down onto the mattress and climbed on top of him, sinking onto his cock as he grasped your hips.

“You’ve been such a good boy I wanna watch your face when you come,” you said, grinding down onto his dick.

“Y/N, fuckin’ hell, Y/N.”

You hummed in response and began to ride him in earnest, balancing yourself by clutching the muscles of his chest and soon Merriell had reached up to the headboard and grabbed on, his accent so thick you thought he might have been speaking French as he gripped the slats and came, his body arched as his hot cum shot inside of you. That feeling of him coming undone satisfied a final ache as your walls clenched around him one more time in a soft orgasm, almost as if all your body could manage was an echo of its first intense bout of pleasure.  

You collapsed on top of Merriell, not yet sliding off of his cock. You could feel him softening inside of you, but neither of you had the energy to move.

“God damn,” Mer growled, reaching down to grasp both of your asschecks before giving them each a light smack. “When ya goin’ outta town again ‘cuz I’m takin’ off work and declarin’ the day of ya return a national fuckin’ holiday.”

You laughed into his neck and finally moved, rolling off of him and stretching out beside him.

“So, you missed me?”

Merriell blinked stupidly at you before his face erupted into a grin.

“I miss ya the second ya walk outta the room.”

You laughed and leaned over to kiss him, happy to be home.

[evanbuckbuckley118]

Golf On TV (Songfic - Maddie x Chimney)

Hello everyone! This is my first fic for the 9-1-1 fandom, I appreciate all critiques!

Prompt received:  “Hey. I noticed that you said you enjoy writing song fics. Could you write one based off of the song Golf on TV by Lennon Stella? Could you make it Madney centric?” (From @maddiehans)

Inspiration: The parts of this song that stand out to me are the themes of healing from past relationships, being confused at how things are in a new relationship because of previous learning experiences, and being confused about people’s tendencies. I took these three themes and tried to incorporate them into this fic!

Lyric: “Some people think it's supposed to hurt/Like it couldn't be real/If it's putting you first/But some people watch golf on TV/And neither of those things make sense to me”

Word Count: 1740

Cross-posted on AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23604478

Dating Doug had taught Maddie a number of things. First, chivalry was dead - so there was no need to expect any kind gestures from her husband. Every gift or minuscule kindness Doug gave came with conditions, adding up to a score Maddie could never repay even if she dedicated a lifetime to doing so. There was also no room for Maddie to shine. Instead, in public she became the figure that stood behind Doug, hiding behind his shadow because that was where he made her feel as though she belonged. Due to this, Maddie had spent a good portion of her adulthood trying to shrink herself. The goal always became to hide, to disappear, to avoid any reason for punishment.

But then she met Howard.

It'd be a cliche to say everything changed, because it didn't really. Maddie still had remnants of the girl Doug had shaped her to be, but her growth was undeniable. She was attempting every day to learn her worth, and a lot of that was because of Howard’s encouragement. 

Dating Howard forced Maddie to confront the pieces of her identity left behind after Doug. The way Howard insisted on opening her car door for her at her every entrance and exit confronted the belief that had been instilled in her that she wasn't allowed to have others put her before themselves. The way Howard seemed to only have eyes for her and refuse interest in women who made advances on him when they went out to karaoke made her wonder how Howard didn't find interest in having multiple partners, because prior to their marriage (and suspicions and threats during) Doug had always expressed interest in other women, pointing out the flaws in which Maddie didn't match up to his standards. The way Howard showed her off in public didn't make her feel like a piece of property being owned, but rather Howard showed her off with a pride and adoration that left Maddie floored. There was no reason or opportunity to hide when she was with Howard, and she wasn’t used to the spotlight after years of walking in Doug’s shadow. 

Every aspect of dating the man known by the 118 as 'Chimney' was in direct opposition with everything Maddie had learned about love. There was a kindness, a patience, and a sense of equal footing and stability that were never present previously in her life. Howard never raised his hand (he hardly ever even raised his voice), he didn't treat everyday gestures as an constant adding score that had to be re-payed, he never pressured her many boundaries and treated the progression of their relationship with such patience, and he treated every person he met with endless compassion.

Maddie finds herself overwhelmed sometimes, and unable to fully express the honesty of the feelings she has for Chimney, even when she knows those indescribable feelings are reciprocated. These emotions were too foreign for her to find the words to properly describe, and she didn't want to use the kneejerk terms she'd used to defend herself in the past from her abusive husband. Doug always told her that a lesser man than himself would have left Maddie a long time ago because of her mannerisms. Yet, throughout everything, Chimney remained. It puzzles her on the best of days. There is a part of her that's been ingrained to feel unworthy of Chimney's love.

The intensity of these differences and her own feelings catches her off guard some days more than others. Like today.

Maddie had come over in the evening for their regular weekly date night. It was too easy to remember the nights that Maddie had previously spent alone slaving in front of a stove, struggling to make a quality dinner before Doug came home - but those nights were being rewritten in real time as Maddie and Chimney split the work of preparing dinner while recounting their work days and cracking jokes. There were no worries about the mess on the counters, or if the final outcome tasted less than spectacular. It was about time spent together, and there was nothing Maddie loved more than her time with Howard.

After dinner, the two of them traveled to the couch. Before they moved, Chimney had grabbed two glasses and a wine bottle from his cupboard. As he sat down, he looked over at Maddie with one hand under the bottle and another behind its neck, showing it off with a signature smile. "I figured we'd end the night with your favorite white wine," he stated, before attempting to pull out the cork.

Maddie attempted to tell him that pulling it out wasn't going to work, but was cut off by her own giggles. The cork remained stubbornly in place, certainly not for a lack of effort on Chim's part. She loved how tough Chimney was, but even his strength was no match for the task at hand.

He hung his head in defeat, and with a small laugh said "My apologies Maddie, I'm going to have to grab the corkscrew from the kitchen."

While Chimney rummaged in the kitchen, Maddie turned her eyes to the television. The television had been left on some sports channel since her arrival, possibly long before. The muffled sportscasters had been the soundtrack to their night, but the volume was so soft that Maddie had muted it in her mind during their previous conversations. "I didn't know you liked golf?" She questioned, not taking her eyes off the screen. 

"Oh, yeah. I almost forgot that was on. I like watching the tournaments sometimes," Chimney lightly shouted from the kitchen, his voice just raised enough to reach across the distance without booming in the small square footage of the apartment.

Maddie pursed her lips. "Have you ever played yourself?"

Rounding the corner of the couch, he stepped in front of the coffee table to be able to pour the wine. "God no," he laughed. "This is a sport best left to professionals, I'd probably let go of the club mid-swing and cause an injury."

"But you still like to watch it?" Maddie questions.

Placing the bottle down, he wipes his hands on his dress pants before moving to sit down. It was endearing to Maddie how nervous he still felt around her, wanting to impress her, oblivious to how much he impresses her every minute just with his presence. "I know a lot of people think it is boring, but these guys sometimes play in grueling weather conditions for hours on end," Chimney explains while passing Maddie her filled glass. "The game is so competitive, every shot is crucial. Sometimes the players hit the bunker or the water, and that sucks. But, I think it's fascinating how they pull themselves out of their heads and shake it off. They continue to aim for that coveted hole in one. There is no greater excitement than that."

Maddie sipped her drink longingly, fascinated how this man can conceptualize such a deep life message out of what she considered to be one of the most boring games imaginable. "That's really beautiful Howie."

"We don't have to stay on it though-" Chimney started, leaning forward to grab the remote.

"-No, if you want to we can watch it-" Maddie interrupted, shifting herself to lean into his side as he leaned back again. She slotted herself under his arm, looping one of her own around his waist as she pillowed her head on his chest.

"-I don't want you to watch anything you don't want to watch," Chimney finishes with passion, passing the remote with a light grip over to Maddie.

Maddie couldn't help but tense. There had been nights with Doug where she'd criticized his viewing choices for the night, and ended up with a remote thrown at her temple in retaliation. The instances where she had gotten to choose their entertainment choice for the night were few and far between.

But as she looked up at Chim with confusion on her face, she realized while looking into Chim's eyes that his words and gesture were genuine. Maddie could only guess that the look in his eyes was adoration, still not having enough experience to trustingly label it as such. Chim's vocal tone and subtle handover of the remote weren't vicious in the way Doug's had often been. Instead, by saying that Maddie shouldn't watch something she didn't want to, what he was really saying was more generalized - he was saying you shouldn't be forced to do anything you don't want to.

And that's the true difference isn't it? Maddie is working hard on her recovery, but the hardest thing has been learning to ask for what she wants. She's spent so long being submissive to others that she's forgotten how to ask or take from others. Maddie knows that Chimney knows this, and probably knew it before even she could acknowledge that part of herself.

The truth is that Maddie does know what she wants. Pushing aside the selfishness and the realization that her growth does involve leaving the guilt her younger self would feel for taking what she wants behind, Maddie slowly pushes upwards to steal a kiss on his lips. She focuses on nothing else but cherishing the moment, while simultaneously breathing all the trust she has for Chimney into the kiss.

"The game is almost over anyway, we'll switch it after," Maddie compromises when they break. As she sinks back into his side, Chim slowly brushes one of her curls over her ear.

His classic smirk breaks across his face at her antics, knowing she wants to appease him as much as he wants to treasure her. "Sounds like a plan.”

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

After the night is through - there are two things Maddie still cannot understand about the men who have been in her life. With Doug, she cannot comprehend what part of him thought it would be okay to treat Maddie the way he did. With Chimney, she cannot comprehend why the man prefers to watch golf in his free time.

What she can understand is which of these issues she'd rather have to deal with, and which man she'd rather have by her side. This was the next chapter in Maddie’s fresh start, and if Chimney could put up with the remnants of her trauma - she could put up with his choice of television, regardless of how boring.